


Cursed or not

by MaeHill



Category: Supernatural
Genre: Castiel is Not Innocent, Dean is a Little Shit, Dean is a Softie, Everyone Is Alive, F/F, F/M, First Meetings, Human Castiel, M/M, Magic, Monster Hunters, Slow Burn-ish
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-06-04
Updated: 2018-07-09
Packaged: 2019-05-17 23:33:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 30,567
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14841326
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MaeHill/pseuds/MaeHill
Summary: Castiel can communicate with animals, but despite this his life is very ordinary. At least until he meets a cat that firmly tells him that he is very much not a cat.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not good at tags or summaries, sorry.

Castiel had always been a bit odd.  
At least that's what his parents told people when they asked why their child was having a very serious conversation with all animals he crossed paths with. 

"It's just a thing he does," his mother would say with a dismissive hand gesture and a laugh. "He'll outgrow it."  
His mother did believe that he would. His father didn't pay much attention to it, but that was probably because he was too focused on his novels and books. When his father did come out of his study, he did encourage Castiel to not change. 

"Being odd isn't a bad thing," he told his son. "No matter what anyone says. Remember that." Castiel had nodded, smiled and then went back to the conversation he was having with the neighbors cat. 

Castiel didn't have a lot of friends, and for the most part he could be found alone with a cat on his lap and his nose buried in a book. Often he would read to the cats, especially the neighbors cat. His neighbor had named the cat Oscar, but the cat had told Castiel that he preferred to be called Ollie.

"That's a nice name," Castiel said to the cat. "I like it." The neighbor was a nice lady, a bit old, so she didn't mind that Castiel had made friends with Ollie.

"What did you and Oscar do today?" She would always ask when she greeted Castiel and Ollie at the door, since Castiel always followed Ollie home before he went back inside. 

"Hello, Anna. We finished this book!" Castiel held up the book, which was a bit too advanced for someone Castiel's age, and then he looked down at Ollie. "He didn't like it very much," Castiel muttered. And so the days went on, and his mother kept telling Castiel that he was too old for this nonsense now.

"You're too old to be going around talking to cats now," she would say with a frown on her face. "Can you at least pretend that you're normal?" Castiel and his mother didn't speak much, and since his father was constantly locked in his study, Castiel grew up quite isolated. 

When Castiel was twelve years old, Ollie died. Castiel had never cried as much as he did the day Anna had to tell him. She hugged him and invited him inside, offering him tea and cookies. Castiel ate and cried.

"He was my only friend," he admitted to Anna. "Is that strange?" Anna smiled and hugged Castiel gently.

"If it is, is that so bad? You're a wonderful kid, love. Embrace your weirdness." And so Castiel cried some more, and went home. 

His mother sipped on her coffee when Castiel told her that Ollie was dead. 

"Good," she muttered. "Now you can find some normal friends. Human friends, Castiel." Castiel did try to. He tried to connect with some of his classmates, but everyone seemed to avoid him. 

"I heard he talks to cats," one of them had told another in the bathroom. They didn't know that Castiel was in one of the stalls, and that he waited until they left to cry. 

Castiel did find some friends when he got older. He met Meg when he was sixteen, and Balthazar when he was seventeen. Castiel had started to hide the fact that he talked to animals now, and it almost drove him mad. Everywhere he went, he could hear everything animals said.  
Some of them noticed that he could hear, and started to yell at him to help him. 

"You need to tell my owner that my name is Lucifer, not Muffin!" Castiel sighed and walked away with hurried steps.

"Can you tell my owner that my stomach hurts?" Castiel continued to ignore them all, and only indulged in conversations with a stray cat that roamed near his house. He started to sneak out in the middle of the night to meet the cat, that had told him his name was Michael, and started to sleep in and ditch school. 

"Castiel, your grades are slipping. You won't be able to get a good job! You need to take this more seriously!" His mother yelled at him everyday, and Castiel fell into a deep depression.  
When Castiel turned eighteen, he left. He told his father, and asked him to tell his mother. He packed some of his stuff and moved in with Balthazar. Castiel got a job as a waiter at a cafe, and life went on. He felt much better now that he had gotten away from his mother, and met his father only outside his childhood home. They went to movies or out for dinner once a week. He was happy. 

When Castiel was nineteen, his secret became public. It had started when a new couple moved in next door with a dog. The couple was nice enough, even though the woman seemed a bit shy and jumpy, and they introduced themselves as James and Lisa. The dog introduced itself as Milton. 

"She's lovely," Castiel told Lisa one day when they met outside the building. 

"She's a lifesaver," Lisa had mumbled with a soft smile directed at Milton.

"What do you mean?" Castiel had asked. He didn't receive an honest answer, and the dog said nothing. Three months into this, Castiel came home from work late one night and found the dog outside. He was barking and yelling for Castiel. 

"What's wrong? Where's Lisa?" The dog jumped around, barked and looked at the open door to the house.

'She needs help, you have to call the police! They can help, they can stop him!'  
Castiel didn't get much more information than that out of the dog, and was unable to get past him to see what was going on when he tried to go inside. 

'Dangerous, dangerous!'  
The dog chanted it, and Castiel decided to trust his him. He called the police, made up some story that he thought his neighbor was in trouble because he heard a lot of noises and banging coming from inside. The police arrived, moved inside and found Lisa beaten up on the living room floor. She left on a stretcher, James left in handcuffs. 

It didn't take long for the police started to question Castiel's story, and it didn't take long for them to leak it to the press. After months of hounding and constant phone calls, Castiel accidentally yelled the truth to a journalist that followed him down the street.

"The dog told me! I talk to animals! Is that what you want to hear? I communicate with animals and the dog asked for help and told me to call for someone and.." Castiel had stopped when he realized what he had done. He was fucked. He hid in the apartment for weeks after, hoping that everyone would forget about the crazy man that had saved a woman and told the world that he could talk to animals. Luckily, they didn't. 

"Cassie, we need you in here!" Castiel huffed in annoyance at the nickname, but ignored it and entered the room Gabriel was in. He sat at his desk, face towards the door. A woman sat on a chair next to the exam table, and a cat sat on the top of it. 

"What's up?" Castiel asked. Gabriel gestured vaguely to the cat.

"Do your thing," was all he said. Castiel did, had a very serious conversation with the cat about how he was depressed because his owner kept him inside. Castiel told the owner, the owner told him off in return and promptly left the animal hospital without paying. 

"She'll be back," Gabriel said with a smirk. Castiel shrugged, but knew that Gabriel always got stuff like this right. Gabriel was a weird one, and he was certainly the weirdest veterinarian he had met. Castiel had thought it was really cool that he worked there even though he owned the clinic. Not many people would do that, and he had more than enough money.  
Gabriel was the first person that had really believed in Castiel's gift, and had hired him on the spot after the story had leaked in the papers. He had friends, his own apartment, and tried to avoid the public eye as best he could. Despite what others thought, his life was quite normal and boring.

Until a sunny day in June that is. The day started off as normal. He got up at seven, showered and got breakfast, walked to work and greeted the receptionist, the customers, the pets and the veterenarians. Gabriel, Michael and Ellen was all very nice, if a bit eccentric. The receptionist, Jo, was Ellen's daughter. She had a bit of an attitude, but was very sweet deep down. 

"Castiel, uh.. I need you in here. Now." Castiel raised an eyebrow at the request, but followed Michael into the room he gestured towards. Exam room three was empty, except for a sandy colored cat running in circles and meowing loudly. 

"Uh.. Where's his owner?" Castiel asked Michael, who simply shrugged.

"Some lady came in with him, said he was running around downtown and causing quite a ruckus." Castiel laughed a bit, which got the cat's attention. 

'What're you laughing at, old man?'  
Castiel folded his arms and lifted an eyebrow. "I'm not old," he said to the cat. The cat stopped dead in his tracks and stared with wide eyes at Castiel. 

'You can hear what I'm thinking?'  
Castiel smiled and nodded in response. "So please refrain from calling me old," Castiel said in a stern tone. He wasn't old of course, he was only 23 years old, but everyone always thought him to be older. Ellen had told him it was because he had an old soul and that he should be proud of that. Ellen said a lot of nice things to Castiel, but he didn’t really believe all of them.

'Oh, thank God! You have to help me!'  
Castiel sat down on the floor to get closer to the cat. He had eyes that was green, and they reminded Castiel of grass on a summer day. "What do you need help with? Finding you owners?" Castiel asked, smiling politely.  
'Ugh, no! I'm not a cat, man, I'm human!'  
Castiel laughed, first loudly, but it ended in a nervous laughter. "I – Excuse me?" Castiel stuttered.

'You have to help me find my brother, he's the only one that cat help me get back to normal!'  
Castiel stared at the cat, his mouth hanging open. He heard Michael talking to him and the cat continuing to yell at him, but all of it was muffled. What the hell was going on? 

"Cassie, you're awfully pale, are you alright?" Castiel snapped out of his thoughts when Michael lay a hand on his shoulder. He flinched away from the touch instinctively, and jumped to his feet. 

"Of course! Why – why wouldn't I be?" Castiel laughed nervously, shifting his gaze from Michael to the cat. "The cat needs help to.. To get back to his owners, of course! Yes, I will – I can take him there." Michael hesitated, but didn't press the issue and agreed that Castiel could leave for the day to get the cat home to where he belonged. 

The cat – man? - refused to be carried, and so he walked next to Castiel as they exited the clinic. Once outside and alone, Castiel stopped and looked down at the cat. 

'What?'  
Castiel swallowed hard. "How can you be human?" Castiel asked the cat. "This can't be real. It's finally happened. I've gone crazy." Castiel was muttering to himself, dragging his hands over his face. 

'What? No! Come on, snap out of it, I need your help! Sam could be anywhere! He can help me find the witch that cursed me.'  
Castiel laughed nervously again, and noticed that his hands was shaking slightly. "A witch, right. Magic, a curse. That's completely – are you crazy?!" Castiel started to walk away from the cat, but he followed. "Cats can get mental illness, right? Which means cats can be crazy! Yeah, you're clearly a lunatic, that's.." 

'NO! Come on, dude! I need you to help me! Just get me to Sam, and he can convince you!'  
Castiel stopped, groaned and decided that he should at least try to help. "This is probably how I die," he mumbled. "The story of the crazy cat whisperer that was killed by a crazy cat and his owner. It'll make a good story. Fine. Let's go." The cat let out a purr. 

'Awesome! I'm Dean.'  
Castiel sighed. "I'm Castiel. Let's get this over with." Castiel and Dean walked towards the road, side by side, while Castiel wondered to himself if he should check himself in to a mental hospital. Dean talked and talked, babbling about how they could find his brother. I wonder if he's this talkative when he's human, Castiel found himself thinking. He guessed that he was.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Castiel learns that phone books are still made in physical copies, Dean figures that one burger can't kill him and Bobby has a good laugh.

Castiel quickly found that Dean had, despite sounding quite confident about finding his brother, no plan whatsoever. "What do you mean you don't know his number? You just told me he was your only living relative, and you don't have his number memorized?" 

'No need to rub it in, dude. We just have to check the first motel in the phone book.'  
Castiel scowled at him. "Phone book? Dean, I don't have a phone book here." Why Dean had decided that they had to go to Castiel's home, he had no idea. Dean had walked around, light on his feet, sneaking through all the rooms in the house. Castiel trailed after and tried to make him focus, but even if he wasn't born a cat, Dean did seem to act as one and promptly ignored Castiel.

It wasn't until Dean was satisfied with his little tour that he sat down, lifted his paw to wash it but fought the urge to, and turned his focus to Castiel. 

'Don't get your panties in a bunch, we'll just have to find one.'  
Castiel sighed and massaged his temples. How could someone cause so much stress with such a little body? After fighting the urge to kick the small creature out, Castiel tried to think where they would have phone books. "Do they even make phone books anymore?" 

'Of course they do.'  
Castiel groaned and then got an idea. "Can't we just go online?" Dean shook his head in response.

'The numbers aren't in the same order.'  
"The same.. Why does it have to be in a certain order?" Castiel tried not to yell, but he had a headache and this whole day was quickly becoming less magical, and more annoying. Castiel wondered how it went from "magic exists" to "why is this happening to me," but he figured that most stories did go that way. 

'It's the deal. If me and my brother gets separated, we meet up at the first motel in the phone book. It doesn't work online. Learned that the hard way.'   
Castiel sighed in defeat. "Alright, where do you typically find them then? It seems like it has happened before." 

Castiel sat down on the couch and let himself sink into it. Had it not been for the voice in his head, he would probably fall asleep. 

'Well, once I had to break into an old store to get it and -'  
Castiel stopped him and said, "You did what?" It would certainly change things if Castiel was helping a criminal. As in, he wouldn't be helping said criminal. 

'I didn't steal anything! I just needed the phone book, Jesus. Anyway, another time we borrowed one at a bar, and last time.. Ah, Bobby had one. Oh, Bobby has one!'   
Castiel folded his arms and bent forward to stare him down. "And what's Bobby's number?" 

Dean let out a huff of air, and looked away.   
'Oh, shut up. Can we just go to a bar or something and ask if they have a phone book?'  
Castiel had to admit to himself that it was the best idea, and that the sooner they did this, the sooner Dean would leave him alone. "Fine," Castiel grumbled. "I doubt they let cats into bars though." Castiel smirked down at the cat, and earned a hiss in return. 

'Don't be rude, I'll claw your eyes out.'   
That made Castiel laugh. "No offense, but I feel like I was just threatened by a cupcake." Dean hissed again, then proceeded to jump on top of Castiel and put his claws in his chest, though they barely poked him through his t-shirt, then jumped off and walked to the door with his tail up high. 

'Let's go.'  
They walked down the sidewalk and towards town, Castiel entering different stores and bars to ask for phone books while Dean waited outside. Dean complained about people staring and hissed at everyone who said he was cute or wanted to pet him. "You're a very convincing cat," Castiel mumbled. "Grumpy, mean and annoying." Dean looked up at Castiel.

'You think I'm annoying?'  
Castiel didn't look down, simply shrugged and continued walking. "You talk a lot," he said after a few minutes of silence. Dean didn't answer, and so they walked in silence until they found another bar that was open.

"I've never noticed how many bars are open in the middle of the day," Castiel mumbled mostly to himself, though he wasn't surprised when Dean answered.

'Really? Don't go out much?'  
Castiel snorted, and felt that no more answer than that was needed. He didn't go out much, he preferred to stay in with the few friends he was most comfortable with, which was Meg and Balthazar. They dragged him out to a few parties each month, but they had only succeeded in getting him with them to a bar two times before. Even though he wasn't as awkward now as he was when he was younger, he was still more of a loner than a social butterfly. He didn't mind, but it did make it hard to meet a potential partner. 

'Cas?'  
Castiel blinked, refocusing on the world instead of his thoughts. "Did you just give me a nickname?" He lifted an eyebrow down at the cat. Dean simply put his head against his leg and looked up at him.

'Yes. Yes, I did. You're adorable, you should have a nickname. Also, your name is fucking long. Now go inside and get me a phone book.'  
Castiel could only hope that the slight blush on his cheeks wasn't noticeable to the cat on the ground. "Fine," he muttered before he walked into the bar. The bar wasn't exactly filled with people, but Castiel was still a bit surprised by how many people were there in the afternoon. He counted at least ten people standing around, playing pool or speaking loudly. 

"What can I get you, handsome?" Castiel smiled to the woman behind the bar, trying to hide how flustered he got when people complimented him. 

"Uh, I was just wondering if you have a phone book I could borrow?" The woman raised her eyebrow at him, but nodded. 

"Odd request," she said while bending down behind the bar and shuffle though some things. She got up with a phone book in her hand, and handed it to Castiel after she blew some dust off of it. "What do you need that for?" she asked.

"Oh, uh.. Just.. I'll be right back with it." Before she could ask more questions, he jogged outside to show the book to Dean. "Here," Castiel said.

'Finally!'  
Castiel bent down and placed the book in front of Dean, then opened it. "To the motel pages?" Castiel asked. He hadn't used a phone book in his life. Not because he was too young to remember them, no, it was more because he had never had any reason to use it before it went out of style. 

'Yeah. A little further, a little – there! Alright, let me see.'   
Castiel tried to read the page up side down, but didn't get very far. The writing was small, and even if he squinted he couldn't see much. He needed glasses, that he knew, but he didn't want to admit it to Meg, not after he had refused to admit it before. Castiel looked around a little, and could clearly see that people were staring as they walked past. Some children were pointing at him, and some of the decent parents were stopping them from doing it.

"Well?" Castiel urged after a little while. His knees was starting to hurt, and the phone book wasn't exactly small.

'Alright, I got it. Abern motel, do you know where that is?'  
Castiel shook his head and slammed the book shut. Dean jumped back and yelled some very serious profanities at Castiel, who was ignoring him in favor of going into the bar to give the book back.

"Ah, I was almost starting to wonder if you ran off with it." Castiel blushed and shook his head.

"No! No, I – I would never do that. I just had to show my friend something. Thank you for letting me borrow it." He handed it back to her with a polite smile. Her lips curled into a sly smile, the red lipstick trapping her white teeth, and she winked at him. 

"No problem. Anything else I can do for you?" Castiel shook his head and turned to leave, but was stopped by a hand on his shoulder. The bartender had leaned across the bar. "Hold your hand out, cutie." Castiel hesitated but did as he was told. The girl got a pen out from her apron and wrote down numbers, a name and a heart on the top of his hand. 

"Uh.." Castiel looked down at it. "Thanks?" The girl, apparently named Katie, just winked and went over to serve some customers further down.

'Something wrong with your arm?'  
Castiel looked away from his arm and shook his head. "Let's see where your motel is," Castiel said instead to change the subject, pulling out his phone to search for the best route to take there.

'You're blushing, man! Come on, let me see your arm!'  
Dean started to jump up and down, meowing loudly, causing quite a lot of the people in the area to stare at them. Some in annoyance, others with amusement in their eyes. 

'Cas, Cas, Cas!'  
Castiel focused on his phone as best he could and simply nudged Dean gently away with his foot when he started to bump into his leg with his head. "Shut up," he muttered under his breath, hoping no one was noticing him too much. "I got it. It's a ten minutes walk in.. That direction." Castiel pointed to the road that continued past the bar. "Let's go." He started walking, but stopped soon after when he heard Dean whine.

'Don't you have a car? I don't wanna walk anymore, I'm tired!'  
Castiel groaned loudly, then walked with hurried steps towards Dean and, before he could protest, picked him up. "Stop squirming!" Dean had all four of his paws in Castiel's face, trying to push away from him.

'Then stop carrying me! Let me down!'  
Castiel held Dean away from his body, and he went limp. His expression looked more like a human than anything, and Castiel could easily see the burning hatred in his eyes now. "Can you just.. Sit on my shoulders? Come on, I want to get you to your brother so I can go home." Dean stared at him for a bit more, looked away, and then gave in.

'Fine. As long as you're not carrying me.'   
Castiel held him up and Dean sat down on his shoulder. Dean was, most likely without meaning to, purring right into Castiel's ear. It tickled a bit, but it was better than the constant whining and meowing, so he didn't mention it.

"Alright, it should be right up ahead. Are you sure your brother will be there?" Castiel turned his head slightly to look at Dean. 

'As long as he's able to be there, yeah. This isn't our first rodeo, man.'  
Castiel snorted. "And what exactly is this? Am I helping a criminal? For all I know, you deserve to be a cat." Dean put his claws out and dug them into Castiel's shoulders. "Stop it!" Dean, to his credit, did.

'I'm not a bad guy. I'm decent. Being a cat ain't so bad anyway, but I refuse to lick my own ass and eat cat food. God, I want a burger.' 

The motel was shady to say the least. The sign was blinking, but half of the letters had either fallen off or was about to. The building itself was not that bad, but it as clear that this wasn't a place you took your family to. 

'I don't think they allow pets.'   
Castiel had to agree on that one. Even a motel as shady and cheap as this one had their limits. Weird limits, yeah, but limits. "Well.. Uh, you could wait outside?" 

'My brother won't trust you, so that's probably a bad idea. I'll just sneak past.'  
They could see the girl sitting in reception now, and she looked really bored. Filing her nails and blowing gum, she hardly noticed the weird duo that came closer.   
"I'm not really sure she cares," Castiel said with a soft chuckle. She must be a teenager, he could almost feel the attitude from here. With the dark make-up around her eyes, her blonde hair messed up and a few tattoos showing on her arms. 

'She looks like a biker Barbie.'  
Castiel snorted, but nodded in agreement. "Let's just try. Uh, where are we going?" Castiel turned his head slightly, and saw that Dean's pupils were huge. "Dean?" 

'How do cats live like this? I can hear everything, Cas. Ugh, hurry, just go inside and tell her we're meeting someone there.'  
Castiel frowned, but did as he was told. This must look very creepy, he thought to himself. A guy wandering into a cheap motel with a cat on his shoulder to meet someone? Yeah, creepy. 

"No pets allowed," the girl said in a flat voice when they entered.

"Oh, uh, this is.. My service cat. I need him because I have – uh, have anxiety." The girl squinted at Castiel, and then turned her attention to the cat on his shoulder. Dean really worked it, rubbing his head against Castiel's hair and purring loudly. Castiel didn't have to fake being uncomfortable at least. He really was very uncomfortable. 

"That's.. Weird. Fine. You here for a room?" Castiel shook his head and attempted a smile that didn't seem as forced as it was. He didn't succeed.

"We – I'm meeting someone here. I forgot something in his car and I need it back, so I just -"  
The girl cut him off by saying, "Yeah, whatever," and waved her hand in a dismissive gesture.

'Nice girl. She must be popular with the boys.'  
"Or girls," Castiel said. His cheeks went red. Why did I say that? "I just mean -"

'Or girls.'  
They walked down the halls without talking about anything else than where they were going. Maybe, Castiel thought, Dean wasn't so bad after all. 

'Try this room.'  
Castiel stopped at room number six, which was right next to the fire escape. He took a deep breath and knocked. A very big, very naked, man opened the door. Apparently without shame, he didn't bother covering himself up as he asked what they wanted. 

'Before you ask, no, this is not my brother.'  
Castiel held back a chuckle as he excused himself to the naked man and told him that he had the wrong room. "Now what?" Dean then ordered him a floor up, where they met a very nice hooker and a married couple, then to the last floor. 

'Last chance. If he isn't here, something's wrong.'  
Castiel could hear the slight tremble in Dean's voice, even if it was just in his head. Castiel really hoped Dean's brother was here, both for Dean's sake, and his own. He really wanted to go home.  
Three knocks. Silence. Two slightly harder knocks. No answer. "Uh.. Maybe he went out?" Castiel suggested. Dean simply swatted him with his paw.

'See if the door is open.'   
Castiel did as he was told and found that the door wasn't locked. "Hello?" Castiel called out, only to be shushed by Dean.

'Be quiet, God! If you were a hunter, you'd be dead by now.'   
Castiel folded his arms. "Hunter? What the hell are you talking about?" Dean didn't answer, and so Castiel grabbed him and held him in front of his face. 

'Slip of the tongue. Can we focus on finding Sam?'  
They found Sam's things. "He wears a lot of flannel," Castiel mumbled too himself while going through the bag that was laying on the bed. "Is he – oh my god, that's a gun!" Castiel threw the bag away from him and jumped back. 

'Don't throw around guns, man! What's wrong with you? You gotta take it.'   
Castiel laughed nervously while shaking his head no. "Absolutely not," he said as he backed away from the bed. "No, no, no. No! I am not a part of this!" Dean bit the bag and pulled it a little more towards Castiel.

'Come on, man! I don't have anyone else to help me and I need to find Sam! He must be in danger, maybe the witch got him or something. Please?'  
Castiel had never touched a gun before. He'd never even seen a gun until now, except in movies and series. He had no interest in holding it, let alone using it. Which made it weird that Castiel was now walking down the streets with a cat on his shoulders, a gun tucked under the waistband of his jeans, and a cellphone that didn't belong to him. 

'Now we can call Bobby.'  
Castiel let out a sigh of relief. Bobby seemed to be someone that could help, and that meant that he could just hand Dean over to him and let them go on their merry way to find Sam.

"Good idea! That's – yeah, let's do that." Castiel swiped at the phone, tapping through it to find the contacts. "Alright, uh.. There, Bobby!" Dean patted Castiel on his head gently.

'Good boy.'  
"Do you want me to help you or not, kitten?" Castiel didn't know how many claw marks he had on his shoulders by now, but he was sure it didn't look pretty. "What should I say to him?" Castiel asked.

'Just tell him that me and Sam got separated and that I can't find Sam. Oh, you should probably mention that I'm a cat. And that you can talk to cats. And that -'  
"Oh my god, are you always this talkative? Just let me call." Castiel pressed the call button and listened to the line ring several times.

"What?" The harsh greeting from a gruff voice on the other side of the line startled Castiel a bit. He wondered to himself if Bobby was a friend or family, or something else entirely. 

"Uh.. I – I'm calling on behalf of Dean?" Castiel wasn't quite sure what to say, and felt as awkward as he usually did when he had to call someone, but luckily Dean saved him with his chatter.

'Tell him that a witch cursed me and that Sam's in trouble.'

"Dean too lazy to call me himself?" Dean let out a meow, and lay his ears back.

"He's sort of unable to right now. He somehow pissed off a witch, got himself cursed and lost his brother." Castiel didn't know what he expected, but laughter wasn't on his list of guesses.

'Is he laughing? Tell him to go fuck himself.'  
Castiel hesitated, but decided to do as Dean said to avoid more claw marks on his shoulders. "Uh, Dean said, and I quote, that he thinks you should go fuck yourself." Castiel flinched a bit, hoping that the gruff man on the line didn't yell at him and hang up. 

"That's Dean alright. What sort of curse did he fall under this time?" Castiel could hear the playful tone, even if he didn't know the man at all. He had to be family. 

"He's a.. Cat." More laughter, some very loud sounds that indicated that the man was slapping a hand on his thigh. 

'Well, on one hand, I'm offended. On the other hand, I haven't heard Bobby laugh like that for a while.'  
Castiel smiled a bit.

"Where you guys at? I'm coming right away, I have to see this." Dean rolled his eyes, but didn't protest. Castiel told him where and gave him his address before they hung up. 

"Well.. Looks like we have a few hours to kill." Castiel turned to look at Dean.

'Looks like it. I'm hungry. Would it be bad if I ate a burger? God, I wish I could get some beer.'   
Castiel shrugged and said, "I'm sure it can't hurt that much. You'll be human in the near future anyway." He hoped. Dean perked up at that, and then waited outside a store as Castiel bought burgers. Then they wandered home, Dean sitting on his shoulder. It's weird, Castiel thought, that he had already gotten used to having the small creature on his shoulder. He figured he might get a cat some time. It could help him feel less alone in the house.

'Thanks for this.'  
Castiel smiled, looking over at Dean, noticing that Dean very much acted like a cat. He was curled up on the couch, purring a bit after devouring the food. "No problem. You're not so bad." Dean put his tongue out, but didn't quite capture the motion that a human would when doing it.

'Same to you, I guess. So I was wondering, how come you can communicate with animals? Or is it just cats?'  
Castiel shrugged. "I don't know, I've always been like this. I can communicate with any animal. Figure I might try to talk to a lion at some point. Maybe they have interesting stories. Or elephants, I hear they're very smart." Dean stretched his paws out.

'That's weird. You ever tried to figure out why? And I wouldn't encourage the idea of wandering up to a lion or an elephant to say hi.'  
Castiel snorted. "I'm not dumb. But no, I've never tried to figure out why. What's the point, you know? It won't change anything." 

They sat in silence after that, Castiel watching some boring show on the TV and Dean slowly dozing off next to him. Castiel looked at him after he fell asleep, and wondered to himself what he really looked like. Was the sandy colored fur the color of his hair? Did he actually have such a beautiful green color on his eyes?   
Castiel might never know. Bobby would be here in a few hours, and then Dean would leave with him and find his brother. Well, hopefully he would at least. Yeah, Castiel thought. He would definitively get a cat later. Or a dog maybe.   
It didn't take long for Castiel to doze off either, with his head leaned back against the back of the couch and his feet stretched out in front of him. Castiel didn't usually fall asleep so quickly, but somehow the presence of a cat, even if he wasn't really a cat, was soothing in its own way.   
Castiel dreamed of magic, lions and a blurry image of what Dean might look like as a human.

'Cas! Wake up, wake up, wake up! Gee, heavy sleeper much.'  
Castiel opened his eyes slowly, then groaned as he felt the pain in his neck. Sleeping half sitting, half laying down on the couch might not have been the best thing for his neck. 

"I'm up," he mumbled while rubbing his eyes. "What's up?" Before Dean could answer, two sharp knocks was heard coming from the door.

'I think Bobby is here. I can't really open the door, so get up.'   
Dean jumped down on the floor and walked with hurried steps towards the hallway. Castiel followed, not as eager, trying to rub the pain in his neck away. Dean was meowing loudly at the door. 

"You're behaving more and more like a cat, Dean." Castiel opened the door and was met by an older man, face well hidden by a beard and a caps on his head that almost covered his eyes. He immediately looked down at Dean.

"That you Dean?" Bobby asked. Dean meowed once, and loudly said a small 'yes' in his mind. "I'll take that as a yes." Castiel moved away to let him in. After checking the clock on his wrist, Castiel sighed when he noticed that they had been asleep for four hours. He would never be able to sleep now.

'I guess you'll have to be the middle man.'  
Castiel squinted down at Dean, but huffed in defeat when he had to admit to himself that it was the truth. "I guess I have to," he mumbled to Dean.

"So," Bobby started. "What's the plan?" Dean talked, Castiel shared his plans with Bobby, and Bobby simply listened. None of them slept that night.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I tried my best. Also, yay! Bobby! Please comment, I need both good and bad feedback so I can get better at this.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bobby calls in some help, Dean and Castiel bonds, Rowena is snarky and Sam is very sleepy.

The next day started a bit too suddenly for Castiel's liking. He woke up from his phone ringing, then yelped and fell off of the couch as a result of Dean clawing him on his thighs. Apparently they had fallen asleep on the couch during the early morning hours, and Dean had somehow found his way to Castiel's lap. 

'If anyone asks, this never happened.'   
Dean sounded a bit embarrassed, and Castiel was sure he'd be blushing if he was human. Castiel tried not to laugh while scrambling for his phone. "Yeah?" Castiel said while he got up from the floor.

"You've never overslept before, Cassie." With the playful tone in Gabriel's voice, Castiel already knew that he would be getting a lot of questions when he arrived at work. 

"Shit, sorry.. I'll be there as soon as I can." Castiel let out a yawn.

"Late night? Did you finally find someone to -" Castiel hung up before Gabriel could continue his sentence and sighed. He would never hear the end of this. 

'You late for work?'  
Dean was sitting next to the couch now, his tail moving slowly back and forth on the floor. Castiel nodded. "Where's Bobby?" Castiel looked around, but couldn't see or hear him anywhere. 

'He went out to check out the motel room more closely. See if any traces of magic of sulfur can be found.'  
Castiel furrowed his brows. "Sulfur?" he asked. 

'Uh, you're better off not knowing really. Anyway, can I follow you to work? I can't really talk to anyone else so..'  
Castiel snorted. "I feel real special. I guess it'll be alright, but you'll have to wait outside the examination rooms for the most part." Dean followed him around while he gathered his things and grabbed an apple. "Oh, you must be hungry." Castiel looked through the fridge, but couldn't really find anything that would be suitable food for a cat.

'I am, but I will not eat cat food. That shit stinks. Buy me some fish or whatever, will ya?'  
Castiel agreed to do so, and after a quick trip to the store, he had some fish he could heat up for Dean. They walked side by side towards the clinic when Dean suddenly hissed and climbed up to Castiel's shoulder.

"Ah, fuck! Dean! Claws!" Castiel glared at the cat on his shoulder, who was now looking up at him from under his short eyelashes and, presumably, pouting. 

'There's a dog.'   
The words were an embarrassed mumble, and Castiel decided to continue the walk without further comment. Couldn't be all that easy to be a cat, anyway. Castiel figured that he didn't need to add more stress to it. 

 

"Cassie, I – wait a second, is that the cat from yesterday?" Gabriel cocked his head and folded his arms. "You told Michael you were gonna get him back to his owners." Castiel was glad he had already figured out what to say, because he wasn't a very good liar.

"I got it touch with them, but they're away on vacation. Turns out the girl they hired to take care of Dean just ran off, so I suggested he stay with me." Castiel smiled for good measure and Dean did his part by purring and bumping his snout against Castiel's head.

"Aw, you're adorable. The cat's nice too." Gabriel winked and walked off down the hall, leaving Castiel with a very obvious blush. Castiel knew that Gabriel wasn't flirting, they were more like brothers than anything, but being called adorable wasn't something Castiel was used to.

'I'm adorable too, right?'  
Castiel scoffed and ignored Dean, instead setting his things down in the backroom and moving to the kitchen area to heat up the fish. Neither of them said anything about it, but Dean was still purring against the side Castiel's head.

Castiel didn't have any steady appointments after the clock struck twelve, so he decided, for the first time ever, to take a long weekend. Getting five hours off was easy, and even encouraged by his co-workers. "You're a workaholic, Cassie. Go home and enjoy your weekend." And so Castiel wandered home with Dean on his shoulder.

'I hope Bobby's got something. I'm worried about Sam.'  
Castiel nodded. He had noticed that Dean got less talkative the more the day went on, so it was clear that something was on his mind. Bobby wasn't there when they got back, but he had put up a note on the door.

"Looks like he's chasing down a lead," Castiel mumbled. 

'Why wouldn't he call you? I could've..'  
Dean trailed off. "Hissed at the witch? Yeah, I'm sure you'd be a real asset if he found the witch." He must've hit a nerve, because suddenly Dean was off his shoulder and down at the porch, waiting to be let in. Castiel unlocked the door and let him in. "Sorry, I didn't mean it like that." Dean continued to ignore him and was now laying down on the couch, curled up with his face hidden behind his tail. "Dean, come on. Bobby will find the witch and you'll be human again, and Sam will be alright." Dean moved the tail slightly to look at Castiel. 

'I know that, Bobby is one of the best hunters there is.'  
Castiel sat down next to him. "Then what's wrong?" Dean looked away for a second.

'I'm just used to being where the action is. I'm restless and worried and bored. And I miss beer, Cas. So, so much.'

That made Castiel laugh, an image of Dean, as a cat, drinking beer popped into Castiel's head. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to laugh." Castiel gave Dean an apologetic smile. Dean seemed to accept it, though it was hard to read his mood for Castiel when he was a cat. 

They decided that they couldn't really do anything but wait, and settled down on the couch to watch a movie. Castiel had gotten Dean a bowl he could drink water from, and Dean made Castiel turn away every time he did. Dinner consisted of fish for the both of them, since Dean refused to eat cat food.

"Should we call Bobby?" Castiel asked when they were halfway into movie number two.

'Nah, he'll call when he knows more. He can take care of himself.'   
Castiel could see that Dean was restless. He kept changing position, turning from side to side, sometimes focusing on the movie, sometimes just staring at the wall or roof. 

"I'll text him," Castiel eventually said. He settled for a short 'Is everything alright?' text and sent it off.

'Thanks.'

They sat in silence for a while, but Dean seemed a bit more calm. Castiel's mind wandered though, and he finally had time to let it sink in that magic was real. That the cat next to him wasn't really a cat, and that he had a gun laying in a drawer in the kitchen. He hadn't really known where else to put it. 

'Tell me something about yourself.'  
Castiel blinked at Dean a few times, but Dean had his gaze glued to the TV. "Uh.. Like what?" Castiel asked. 

'Like.. I don't know. What do you usually do in your free time?'  
Castiel shrugged when Dean looked at him. "This. Watch movies, read books, cook. Sometimes I go out with my friends, but I suppose I've been kind of isolating myself lately." It was something Castiel hadn't really admitted to anyone, but something about Dean made it easy for him to open up. Maybe it was the fact that he was a cat.

'Why? You don't want to hang out with them anymore?'  
Castiel shook his head. "It's not that. It's just.. Balthazar has a steady boyfriend now, and Meg has a boyfriend for now, and I have.. Well, I don't have a partner and they always invite theirs when we meet up. It doesn't feel so good to be the third wheel Anyway, they’re all away on vacation together." 

'I don't know about being the third wheel, but I know how it feels to not have a partner.'  
This conversation turned deep really fast, Castiel thought to himself. But what was the worst that could happen? Dean would be human soon and he would leave, to continue doing his job. Hunting.

"It sucks," Castiel muttered. "Sometimes. Not always, I do like to have some time for myself." He'd always been an introvert, which he assumed he had inherited from his father, and his childhood hadn't helped much either. 

'Yeah, me too. It's hard to find a partner when I travel all the time.'  
Castiel opened his mouth to ask more about this so called job he had, but his phone rang before he had a chance to do it. "It's Bobby," Castiel said before he answered. "Hello. Is everything alright?"   
Castiel could hear someone talking in the background, presumably two females, but he couldn't hear what they were saying.

"Yeah," Bobby said. Castiel put him on speaker so Dean could hear. "Found a hex bag in the motel room. Good thing we didn't find Sam in there after all, but it's dealt with now. I called in Jody and Donna, so you don't have to worry, Dean." Castiel smiled down at Dean. 

'If anyone can get this done, it's those three.'  
"Alright, we'll just.. Wait here then." Not that they could do much else.

"And tell the furry idjit to stay away from beer," Bobby said before he hung up. Dean put both his ears back and waggled his tail a few times.

'He's so strict. One beer can't possible kill me.'  
Castiel scratched Dean under his chin, and grinned wide when Dean leaned into it for a second. He then patted Castiel's hand away. 

'Don't you forget that I'm not actually a cat. You wouldn't scratch me under my chin if I had my human body.'  
Castiel just smiled and turned his attention to the TV again, even though he had no idea what was going on. "We'll see," he mumbled. "But I'm still not giving you a beer."   
Dean mumbled something that Castiel couldn't quite catch before he turned away from Castiel to sulk. Castiel held back a laugh by biting his lower lip and continued to watch the movie.

Four hours later, Castiel was woken up by his phone ringing. He yawned and then heard light purring coming from his side, where he could feel something warming up the side of his thigh. Or rather, someone. Dean had moved closer, now laying against Castiel's thigh, purring in his sleep. Castiel moved slowly and tried to be as quiet as possible when he answered his phone.

"Yeah?" Castiel mumbled when he answered.  
"We caught the witch," Bobby said in response. Castiel was immediately awake, and moved his thigh to gently wake up Dean.

'Umf. What?'  
"They found and caught the witch that cursed you," Castiel said while putting Bobby on speaker. "So she can turn Dean human now?" Castiel asked. He wasn't really that sure about the real rules of witches. Maybe he should've been less concentrated on hanging with Dean, and more on learning some more about this stuff.

"Yeah, that's right. If we can persuade her. Jody's on her way over to your house to pick you guys up." Castiel hesitated a bit.

"Do I have to come?" he asked while avoiding Dean's gaze. He was scared of getting more involved in this than he already was.

"We can't force you, but it would really help us communicate with Dean if she refuses to do it. Hopefully she knows where Sam is too. Just think about it. Jody will be there in half an hour." Bobby hung up without saying goodbye and Castiel turned his attention to Dean, who was now sitting up next to him.

'You don't have to. We'll be alright, and we have your number if we need anything. You've done more than enough already, man.'  
Castiel blinked and then leaned back, laying his head against the back of the couch again. "I'm just a bit scared, is all. I didn't even know magic was real until recently." He rubbed his eyes and tried to get make up his mind. What's the worse that could happen? Castiel thought to himself. Bobby said they had trapped her and it is his job. He must know what he's doing, so it should be safe.

'It's our job to deal with this, not yours.'  
"Oh? Who hired you to deal with witches?" Castiel moved his head to look at Dean, arching an eyebrow. Dean moved his paw in a dismissive manner, though it still didn't quite catch the energy a human would give off if he did the same movement.

'It's the family business. I've never done anything else.'  
Castiel hummed. "That doesn't mean you have to do it," Castiel said.

They talked a bit after that, not revisiting the question of whether Castiel would join them or not. Dean told him of how his mother had been a hunter and that his father became one when she died. Castiel felt such sadness when Dean spoke, and he couldn't comprehend how Dean's father could do that to his own children. Dean didn't say anything bad about his father, but Castiel understood that he wasn't a good man anyway. Not until the day he died at least, when he sacrificed himself for his children. That's something a father is suppose to do, Castiel thought to himself.

'Sam swore that he would never fall in love with anyone after Jess died, but last year he met this hunter called Eileen and he's been fucking pining ever since. He just doesn't admit it, it's so dumb.'  
Castiel snickered. "Stubborn must run in the family then," he commented.

'Hey, that's not -'

Dean was interrupted by two harsh knock on the door. They shared a look, but Dean didn't ask if he would join of not. They simply walked to the door, Castiel opened it and Dean meowed at the woman standing outside. She had short, brown hair and a gentle smile. Her clothes was simple, just a sweater and jeans. 

"You must be Castiel. I'm Jody." They shook hand and then Jody turned her gaze down towards Dean. "What a cutie! You sure you want to go back to being a snarky man, Dean?" Dean hissed while Jody laughed. Castiel joined in with a smile, but it didn't quite reach his eyes.

'Rude. I'm a fucking delight to be around.'  
Dean looked up at Castiel, just staring.

"We should probably get going," Jody said after clearing her throat. Castiel looked at her, bit his lip a few times and then made up his mind. 

"I'm probably going to regret this, but I might as well join." He rubbed his neck awkwardly. Castiel admitted to himself that he kind of wanted to go. His life had, despite his gift, been very ordinary. Isolated and sort of straight forward. 

'You sure?'  
Castiel nodded down at Dean and then went to get a hoodie, his cellphone and his keys. Soon enough they were in the car, Castiel answering Jody's question about his gift. Had he always been able to do this? Why? Does he know of anyone else that can do the same? No. Was he happy? Yes. I'm content, was what he really thought. She didn’t need to know that. Dean meowed a bit from the backseat for no reason. He'd been doing that a lot the last few hours, Castiel thought to himself. He wondered if Dean would turn full on cat if he was stuck in this form too long. 

Half an hour later, they arrived at a house. It was in a nice neighborhood on the outskirt of town. All the houses looked the same, though some of them were in different colors, and the gardens were neat and filled with flowers.

"Not really where I would expect to find a witch," Castiel mumbled to himself.   
'Some of them live normal lives. Partners, kids, jobs.'

Castiel chewed his lip. “Do you take care of them too?” Dean shook his head.

‘Only the ones that hurt people. Not every witch is evil.’

"This one could give you a run for your money, Dean. Never met such a sarcastic lady in my life." Castiel furrowed his brows at Jody's comment, but didn't say anything as he followed her into the house, Dean trotting right next to him. 

"We're here!" Jody called out when they entered the house and closed the door. Castiel looked around, finding that the house looked just as neat and normal inside as it did on the outside. Jody let them to the basement where Bobby and a blonde woman greeted them. When Castiel came all the way down, he saw a redheaded woman standing in a corner with chains on her wrists that were fastened to the wall. It was some writing on it that Castiel couldn't read. The woman had a smirk on her face and her arms folded. 

"Enjoying your new life, kitten?" she asked with her gaze focused on Dean. He hissed at her, but kept close to Castiel still.

'Tell her to go fuck herself.'  
"Dean, I will not repeat that." Dean lay his ears back and glared at Castiel. The redheaded woman laughed, her attitude and mood nowhere near what Castiel would expect from someone that was currently chained to a wall. 

"Well, now that we're all here, maybe you'd like to tell us where Sam is?" Jody put both her hands on her hips, looking very much like a mother scolding a child. 

"And then you can turn Dean back to normal," the blonde woman added. She had a very gently nature about her, a small smile on her face even now.

'Donna is the sweetest hunter there is, honestly. I think she's made of sugar and rainbows.'  
Castiel held back a laugh. "Don't make me laugh now," he whispered to Dean. Dean tilted his head and put it against Castiel's leg, looking as innocent as he could up at him. 

"Sam? That handsome tall guy? Tsk, tsk." The witch shook her head. "I figure he must be dead by now. Being caught by the dog catcher wasn't the mot fortunate thing that could've happened to him." Castiel could feel Dean flinch against his leg.

"You turned him into a dog? Why?" Jody asked. 

“He was so adorable while he tried threatening me to fix his brother for him. Reminded me of a puppy if anything, so I figured..” The witch didn’t end the sentence, but her smile was malicious if anything.

"I'll find him," Donna said. She had her phone out, trying to find the number and address to the closest dog impound. "Uh, I'll probably need your help to find out which dog he is, Castiel. If you don't mind." Castiel nodded, then turned to Dean.

"Do you want to stay here?" Dean shook his head.

'I'll come with. They can keep the witch here in the meantime, Sam is more important now.'  
Jody threw the car keys to Donna and then they were on their way. It didn't take Donna long to find that there were two impounds in town. She sped of to the first one, and Castiel called the other one to stop them from possibly killing Sam. 

"We put down a few dogs earlier, so we can't guarantee anything," the woman on the phone explained to Castiel. He didn't tell Dean that part. Donna rushed into the impound after a very illegal parking. "We're looking for a dog," she told the guy in the receptionist. 

"What kind of dog?" he asked in a gruff voice. He clearly didn't work there out of his love for dogs.

"Uh, can you let us in the backroom so we can see? It's my cousins dog and I'm not sure of the breed." The man sighed, but agreed and locked up a door next to the counter to let them in. The room was filled with cages, which was filled with all sorts of dogs. Dean hissed and backed out of the room, settling right outside the door with his head peeking slightly inside.

"Sam? Sam Winchester?" Donna was calling out and looking into all the cages. Castiel walked after her and tried to focus on what all the dogs were saying, but they were all yelling something.

'Play with me' or 'save me' or 'my owner needs me.'   
Castiel decided that he would come back later to find out who here had an owner and not. After trying to find out if Sam was there for about ten minutes, they gave up.

"He must be at the other place," Donna mumbled as they exited the door. 

"Are you going to put down any of the dogs in in the near future?" Castiel asked the gruff man.

"Possibly, what's it to you?" Castiel cleared his throat.

"Some of them have owners, I can help you find out who. And I'm.. Possibly looking for a dog myself." The man eyed Castiel. 

"How'd you know?" Castiel pulled out his phone and googled his own name, then showing the result to the man. 

"That's how I know. I'll be back tomorrow, just.. Don't do anything until then?" After the man agreed, although a bit reluctantly, they left to go to the other place.

"We called earlier," Donna said to the receptionist when they entered the next place. The woman at the reception nodded and smiled, showing them to the room that contained all the dogs. 

"I'm getting a headache," Castiel mumbled when they entered. The same prayers and words were yelled out, and Castiel tried his best to focus on each of them for a few minutes before they moved out.

"Sam? Sam Winchester? Yell out if you're here, honey." When they were almost at the end of the room, Castiel was about to give up. 

'Me! It's me, I'm Sam! Donna, it's me!'   
"He's here!" Castiel focused on the words, and after some struggling he found a brown Labrador in one of the last cages. He was barking and wagging his tail. "There you are," Castiel mumbled.

"Did you find your dog?" the lady from the reception called down to them. 

"Yes, he's here." The lady opened the cage and Sam flew out, immediately moving to Donna, circling her several times while she laughed down at him. 

'Donna! You came! Thank God, I was sure I was going to be sent away or put down.'  
Sam looked over at Sam. "Hello, Sam. If you need to say anything, I can help you with that." Castiel smiled at the dog. He simply tilted his head. 

'You can understand me?'  
Castiel nodded. "Also, Dean is in the other room. He's in a similar.. Situation." Castiel cleared his throat, trying not to laugh. It really was ridiculous. When Castiel turned, the lady that worked there was staring at him with wide eyes. "Uh.." 

"Oh my god, you're Castiel Novak!" She squealed and grabbed his hand, shaking it. "I'm a huge fan!" Castiel blushed. 

"Oh, uh.. Thank you. I – I would like to come back here later, so I can find out which dog has an owner, if you don't mind." The woman nodded and grinned.

"Oh course! You're welcome anytime! We'll take care of them in the meantime!"   
They parted ways and finally the brothers could reunite. Despite being cat and dog, they immediately ran to each other, both concerned about the other. Castiel listened to them ask if the other was okay and each explaining what happened after they were separated. 

'I couldn't see you anywhere, so I followed the witch and she decided to turn me into a dog. I wandered around and eventually a dog catcher got me and put me in that cage. Ugh, I had to eat dog food!’  
Dean meowed and laughed, walking side by side with his brother.

'I guess I was knocked unconscious after she turned me into a fucking cat and I woke up under a box, so I spent some time getting out from that and then I wandered around too. Typical our luck that we didn't meet each other. Then this dude named Michael saw me on his way to a clinic and took me with him. Which was good, since I met Cas there.'  
Sam looked up at Castiel.

'So how come you can understand animals anyway?'  
Castiel sighed, a bit tired of the question by now. No one was ever satisfied with the answer, and even Castiel had begun to think about trying to find out. "I've always been able to do it," he explained once again. Luckily, Sam didn't press the issue further, and simply thanked Castiel for helping them. They all got in the car and Donna started to explain the last few days. That Castiel had helped Dean find the motel room and then get in touch with Bobby. That Bobby came to help and that he called for Jody and her to help. 

"And last, but not least! We found and caught the witch." Donna turned slightly and smiled back at the two brothers in the backseat.

'Thank God! I'm real tired of being a dog by now. I'm hungry, but I refuse to eat more dog food.'  
They stopped by a diner to buy some burgers to go so Sam could get a full stomach before they continued to work on getting the witch to cooperate. After they had all eaten in the kitchen of the house, talking and enjoying some peace before they went down to the witch again. Castiel was grateful that they didn't ask anymore questions about him, apart from how old he was and trivial stuff like that. 

"Aw, you found the little guy! How touching." The witch's attitude hadn't changed at all, still a smirk on her lips. She was sitting down on the floor by now, since she hadn't been given a chair.

'How are we going to get her to cooperate? When we give her room to use her magic, she could just curse all of us and leave.'  
Sam had a good point, one that everyone except Castiel had thought about.

'God, everything would be so much easier if killing the witch lifted the curses she had put on someone.'   
Castiel looked down at Dean with wide eyes, wondering if Dean could kill someone like it was nothing. His guess was yes, especially when his job title was hunter. All in this room except Castiel could probably kill someone without flinching. 

"What do we have to do to make you lift the curse?" Bobby asked the witch. She shrugged.

"Let me go, for starters." Jody snorted.

"A rogue witch keeping her word? I'd like to see that." Jody sat down on a chair next to the stairs, sighing. This could take some time, and Castiel was a bit afraid that Sam and Dean could possibly lose their personalities given enough time. Dean was already purring and meowing more, and Sam was currently half-asleep on the floor, curled up as any dog would be.

"I have nothing to lose. You guys on the other hand, do. So what other choice do you have?" The witch smiled wide and clasped her hands together, rubbing them like a greedy merchant "Fine, how about this! I turn your boys back to normal and you don't chase after me, hmm?"   
Bobby squinted and folded his arms, but shared a look with Jody and Donna. Castiel couldn't figure out another solution either. 

'We don't really have a choice, do we?'  
Dean looked up at Castiel. Sam was actually sleeping by this point, so Dean patted him several times with his paw to wake him up. "Do you have any suggestions, Sam?" Castiel asked him after he got up. Sam sneezed once.

'Oh! A blood pact! Then neither of us can break out promises!'  
Dean meowed several times and agreed, so Castiel turned to the three others and told them what Sam had said.

"Of course, why didn't I think of that? Idjit." Bobby grumbled to himself. "We're gonna need a specific book." The witch cleared her throat.

"I can tell you how to do that," she offered with a sly smile.

"I think it's best if we get it from reliable sources," Jody said with a scowl. "Where can we find it?" Bobby looked at Dean.

"Your fathers journal?" Dean perked up and looked at Castiel.

'In the Impala! It's parked two blocks down. I figured it would be safer there.'   
Castiel gave the information on and offered to go get it. He needed some air anyway, and he found it very exhausting to be with such a large group of people – and animals – over so many hours. Dean joined him. He stopped when they were out of sight.

'Lemme get on your shoulder.'  
Castiel smiled but bent down so Dean could jump on, and then they were on their way. "I'm guessing the first thing you'll do when you're back to normal is get a beer, huh?" Dean purred against him.

'Definitively! You should come. It's Friday night and you need to go out more.'  
"I'll think about it," Castiel said, although he was pretty sure he wouldn't be able to say no to Dean at this point. The only reason he wanted to think about it was because he couldn't be sure about them getting along just as well when Dean wasn't a cat anymore. He could be different, he figured to himself. 

The car Dean pointed out with his paw was beautiful. He told Castiel that it was a 1967 Chevrolet Impala, and that he had inherited it from his father.

'It feels like my home at this point. Me and Sammy spent half our childhood in this, and probably even more of our adult life in it. I call her Baby.'  
"It's beautiful," Castiel commented.

'She. She's beautiful.'  
Castiel shook his head and laughed, finding it a bit ridiculous, but promised Dean that he would use the right pronoun either way. Once they stood next to the car, the problem became clear. "Uh.. Keys?" Castiel asked, looking at Dean. His eyes went wide.

'Shit. I don't know where they are. We were in the forest when the witch cursed us.'  
"So.." Castiel started. "What now?" Dean jumped down from his shoulder and went up to the car, putting his head against the side door.

'I'm sorry, Baby. I'll make it up to you.'  
Castiel looked confused down at Dean.

'You're just gonna have to break the window.'  
Castiel looked around them with wide eyes and asked, "What if someone sees and calls the police?" Dean waved his paw dismissively.

'Just grab the book in the glove department and then we'll run back to the house. Come on, this isn't exactly the wildest thing that has happened in the last few days.'  
Castiel sighed in defeat and went to find a rock. He took a deep breath, and Dean looked away, before he smashed the window on the passenger side. As quick as he could, he found the glove department.

'The combination is 11-2-83.'  
Castiel got it open, flinched when he saw a gun, but ignored it to get the only book that lay in there. It looked old, was leather bound and had obviously been read several times. "This one?" Dean nodded and then they jogged back to the house, Castiel looking nervously around them. He took a deep breath when they got in the house, and the door was closed and locked. "I hope no one saw," he mumbled. 

He found the rest of the group, including Sam napping on the couch in the living room, and offered the book to Bobby. "We'll do the rest, you guys can just relax," Bobby said with a smile. Despite his look and gruff attitude, he seemed to be very fond of the boys. 

'Sam, scoot over. Move your fat ass!'   
Sam answered with moving a little bit to the left and wagging his tail against Dean. Only Castiel could hear him laughing, very pleased with himself.

'C'mere.'  
Dean patted his paw on the couch, clearing a spot for Castiel. There were several chairs in the room, but Castiel obliged Dean's wish nonetheless. He melted into the guys, leaning his head back and putting his hands on his lap. Sam was snoring on the other side of the couch and Dean lay pressed up against Castiel's thigh. Castiel would miss this, and he knew that he would definitively get a pet soon. First he'd figured he would get a cat, but now he decided that a dog would be a good idea. It would give him more to do and help him get out on walks. While Castiel thought about what dog he could get, he fell asleep.

Not long after Donna gently woke up Castiel, who in turn woke up Sam and Dean. Dean quickly jumped off and ran down to the basement before Sam saw how he had been sleeping. He gave Castiel before he trotted away. "I won't tell," Castiel mumbled, remembering when Dean had woken up on Castiel's lap. He had to smile a bit at the memory, thinking it would be weird to think back on when Dean was human.

'What?'  
Castiel looked over at Sam, who had clearly heard that he had muttered something. Castiel shook his head and let out a weak 'nothing' before they walked down in the basement.

"Alright, we have everything we need. I'll make the pact with you." Bobby stood ready next to the witch. There were candles lit all over the basement and a table placed next to Bobby with two cups on it. Castiel decided not to ask what was in the cups.

"No, old man, I don't want to make a deal with you. I know who you are and I know your very self-sacrificing nature. No, I want to make a deal with him." The witch pointed at Castiel. He took a step backwards and Dean jumped in front of him.

"That's not -" The witch shushed Jody.

"You lot can easily jump in the line of fire if you decide to take me down, but him? No, I'm quite sure that none of you are willing to sacrifice him." Dean hissed at her, but everyone else turned to Castiel. He looked nervously around. 

"I can.." he started, but then he realized that he didn't really know what else to say. "What will happen if the pact is broken?" Castiel asked instead. Everyone except Bobby looked away. 

"You die," he simply said. Castiel swallowed hard. He didn't really know any of these people, not well enough that he should entrust his life in their hands. Betting his life on nothing but their words. 

"No. We'll just keep you here until you agree to deal with one of us." Jody scowled at the witch, her arms folded across her chest. Yeah, Castiel thought, she had to be a mother. 

"You're very welcome to try," the witch said with a smirk. Castiel sighed and stepped around Dean.

"I'll do it." Donna turned to him and weakly shook her head, Jody kept her gaze on the witch and Bobby sighed with his eyes on the floor. Sam and Dean looked just like animals did when they were denied treats or a walk. 

"You don't want to get involved in this world, kid." Castiel snorted when Bobby called him a kid. He was far from a kid. A little naive, maybe, but not a kid. Even though he didn't know the witch, and hadn't dealt with witches before, he would imagine that they could be quite stubborn when they put their minds to something. And she had mentioned that the group Castiel was with had a habit of sacrificing themselves, so if Castiel did this, he could possibly stop them from making that choice.

"It's fine, I.. I trust you guys not to – to do anything that will put me in harms way." Castiel looked down at Dean, and thought to himself that maybe his choice was a bit too much influenced by him alone. 

"Step up, handsome." The witch gestured for him to come closer, while eyeing him up and down. Castiel tried not to look nervous, but his hands were shaking a bit. "What's your name then?" she asked.

"Do I have to tell you my full name?" She nodded. "Oh. Castiel James Novak." 

"It's nice to meet you, Castiel. I'm Rowena Mcleod." Castiel looked at the hand she was offering him, but didn't take it.

"Let's just get this over with," he mumbled.

"Let's," Rowena said with a predatory smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Again, I tried my best. I'm still not sure what my style is, so if the way the chapters are split up bothers any of you or you have any tips, just let me know. Or if there's other things I need to fix!  
> I don't really plan on having a steady plan for when I update the story, but it'll probably be once a week or two times a month.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little bit of magic, a lot of sexual tension and a surprise.

"Let's," Rowena said with a predatory smile. She opened her mouth to continue when she was interrupted by loud meowing. Everyone tried to hush Dean and Castiel held his hands over his ears.

"Stop shouting!" It took a few seconds for Castiel to register that the room went dead silence. Even Rowena kept her mouth shut. Castiel looked around, finding everyone staring back at him, some with their mouths hanging open. "Uh.. I didn't mean to yell." He looked down at Dean.

"Haven't known you for long, kid, but you don't seem like the kind to yell." Bobby huffed a laugh. Castiel cleared his throat, a blush on his cheek.

"I'm a bit tense," he admitted. Dean was sitting quietly at his side, clearly a bit embarrassed about his own behavior. "Dean." He looked up at Castiel, though a bit reluctantly. 

'I just don't think you should do this. You barely know us and this isn't your life.'   
Castiel shrugged. "It's the right thing to do, I think. And these few days has been the most fun I've had in years, so.. I just mean that I don't mind doing this for you." They stared at each other for a few seconds before someone else cleared their throat. "For all of you," Castiel added, looking at Sam. 

'Thank you, Cas. But even if it is the right thing, you're not obligated to.'  
Sam walked a bit closer, then sat down as well. "I don't speak animal, but I think I'm chiming in with the boys when I say that you shouldn't feel like you have to." Jody placed a hand on Castiel's shoulder, and Castiel turned to smile at her.

"I don't feel like I have to, really." Castiel turned to Rowena. She was, unlike usual, very quiet and without a smile on her lips. "Sorry," he mumbled. 

"It's fine, let's just do this. I have things to do." Rowena grabbed the cup. "Shall I walk you through this?" Castiel nodded in response and grabbed the other cup, staring down at the liquid. "First we cut each others palms, mix your blood in my drink and vice versa, then we state our promises and drink it." Castiel smelled it, and regretted it immediately. 

"What's in this?" Castiel asked, turning to Bobby. He simply shook his head.

"You don't wanna know," he said. Jody and Donna chimed, agreeing to that. Castiel trusted them enough to accept that answer, then turned back to Rowena. She had that smile on her face again, but was looking at Bobby now.

"We need a knife." she held her hand out, waiting patiently while Bobby reluctantly gave her the knife. Castiel stopped himself from taking a step back, instead simply putting the cup down again. Rowena did the same and then grabbed Castiel's hand, yanking it closer to her. Dean hissed, but otherwise didn't say anything to Castiel. "Ready, tweety pie?" she asked.

"Don't call me that," Castiel mumbled. "But yeah. Just do it." He winced when she cut his palm, although it wasn't deep and the knife was sharp, he still wasn't used to pain. He had always been a careful person, so he hadn't even had a single broken bone in his life. Still, it wasn't as bad as he had thought it would be. Rowena moved Castiel's hand over her cup, and he squeezed it together to get some blood into it. She then held the knife out towards him. 

"I can take it," Rowena said with a wink when Castiel hesitated. He ignored her, grabbed the knife and cut her palm, luckily managing to get it right on the first try. Rowena squeezed her hand over Castiel's cup, blood pouring down. She then grabbed her cup with her other hand. "Now then, let's each state what we promise not to do." Castiel grabbed the cup and nodded.

"We, meaning all of us in this basement, promise not to hunt you, trap you or hurt you in any way." Castiel swallowed hard.

"And I promise to turn Sam and Dean back to their normal self, and not to hunt, trap or harm any of you, meaning all of you in this basement, in any way." Rowena put her glass against Castiel's, making a low clink sound, before they both took the glasses to their lips and drank the disgusting liquid. Castiel did it as fast as he could, but couldn't avoid the taste. He gagged a few times, but was able to get it down without vomiting. Rowena smiled, and held her cuffed wrists out towards Jody. 

"Yeah, yeah," she mumbled as she fumbled for the keys. After unlocking them, Rowena stretched.

"Much better," she said. She then turned to Sam and Dean. "Might wanna cover yourselves up." She laughed, and before anyone could ask what she meant, she flicked her hand and vanished. Castiel blinked several times before he turned around, then froze completely when he was met with two very green, and very human, eyes. 

"Oh," he mumbled. They were a bit too close, so he took a step back. That didn't make it any better. "Oh!" he said as he turned quickly around, trying not to look at Dean, who was standing there naked. He hadn't seemed bothered at all, not even covering himself up before Castiel turned. He hadn't seen in Sam's direction, but he guessed that he was in the same situation.

"For God's sake, Dean, cover yourself up!" Bobby said in a stern voice. Dean laughed. 

"Come on, Sammy, there's some blankets on the couch." The two boys went upstairs in a hurry, Dean still laughing and Sam telling him to shut up, while the rest of the group simply stayed downstairs for a few minutes. 

"Someone should get them some clothes," Donna mumbled. Bobby huffed a laugh and was the first one to dare go upstairs. Jody followed after agreeing with Donna. Bobby and Dean were discussing clothes when Castiel and Donna joined them upstairs. Castiel blushed lightly when he saw Dean, standing in the middle of the living room with a blanket wrapped around his waist. He was clearly in good shape, having a clear six pack on his stomach and just the right amount of muscles on his arms. His hair was a bit messy, but it had the same sandy color as the fur he had been sporting as a cat. Freckles on his cheeks, a five o'clock shadow covering up half his face and perfect lips.   
Sam was sitting on the couch, completely covered up by the blanket. He was taller than Dean, that much was clear, had brown hair down to his shoulders and a gentle smile on his lips. Castiel noticed the dimples on his cheek. He reminded Castiel of a child, really. Gentle, curious and kind. 

"Alright, who wants to get these boys some clothes?" Bobby turned away from Dean, and Donna volunteered immediately. Jody was sitting on a chair, and simply shook her head. Dean was grinning at Castiel, and he offered a quick smile back, wondering to himself why he was grinning. Had he perhaps seen his blush? Shit. 

"I can go with you, Donna," Castiel blurted out. Anything to get away from Dean right now. The two of them hurried outside and went to Donna's car, then shared a look before she started the car. "That was awkward," Castiel mumbled. Donna laughed, and the tension eased up.

"Yeah, a bit," Donna said while starting the car. They drove in silence, a soft song playing on the radio. Castiel stared out the window, wondering what would happen now. Would they leave right away? Would Dean actually want to grab a beer with him before he leaves? Castiel didn't have any answers, but he knew what he hoped for.

"I'll just wait in the car," Castiel said with a smile when they were parked in the motel's parking lot. Donna nodded and went on her way. Castiel needed some time for himself, so he turned off the radio and sat in silence, thinking a bit while he could. He thought about what he was going to say when they came back, when Sam and Dean were dressed and ready to go back to normal. He couldn't deny that he and Dean had gotten close, even if he was cursed and it was all a bit bizarre, but he didn't know Dean well enough to know if that meant something. He could be that way with everyone, he could be a 'hit it and quit it' kinda guy. Shit, he could be straight. Though Castiel didn't believe that, he was way too comfortable with being intimate with him for that, but he might be in the closet. Too soon he was pulled out of his thought by the car door opening.

"You alright? You looked like you were overthinking some things." Donna threw a big bag in the backseat before she got in. Castiel shrugged. "You can talk to me if you want," she said with a friendly smile. She really was sweet, seemingly so genuine with everything.

"Just wondering what will happen now," Castiel admitted. 

"Ah. What do you want?" Donna focused on the road, so Castiel simply looked down at his lap as they spoke. It felt better. 

"Well, I.. You're all very nice. I've had a lot of fun with you, despite the whole curse." He had to smile then. "It would be nice to meet you all again," he added. Donna let go of the wheel with one hand to place it on Castiel's shoulder for a few seconds and their eyes met.

"We would like that too." Her face got serious then, and she looked back on the road. "Just don't get mixed up in hunting. You have a life, a talent." Castiel snorted.

"And being good at saving people and hunting things, that's not a talent? You guys are the heroes in the story." He didn't mean to sound jealous, but it came out a bit more bitter than he meant to. He felt ashamed immediately, he knew how much all of them had given up for this. How many people some of them had lost, how many times they had watched people died or gotten hurt. "Must he hard," he mumbled. They didn't talk much after that, but the radio wasn't turned on again. The silence wasn't awkward or strained, it just.. Was. 

Castiel hanged a bit back when Donna headed in with the clothes, not wanting to walk in on Dean half naked again. It had been embarrassing enough that he'd been blushing and then all but ran out of the house to avoid him when he stood there looking way to good with the blanket around his hips. "Shit," Castiel mumbled to himself, trying not to think about Dean's hips. 

"What're you cursing about?" Castiel's head snapped up and was met with the sigh of a clothed Dean. Castiel cleared his throat and hoped he wasn't blushing again.

"Nothing," he mumbled. "How are you feeling?" Dean grinned and spun around, arms out.

"Like myself again! Now try scratching me under my chin, see what happens." Dean put on a stern face and folded his arms across his chest, but soon broke out in a laugh that Castiel had to join.

"I'll try my hardest not to," Castiel said. 

"So, how about that beer?" Dean put both his hands in the pockets of his jeans. He looked a bit.. Nervous, maybe? Castiel wasn't quite sure if he was reading his expression right. 

"Yeah, sure." Dean smiled. "Uh, what about your car?" Dean's smile fell, a small panicked expression replacing it. Dean didn't say anything else, simply started to jog in the direction of the car. Castiel followed, though he didn't jog. When he caught up with Dean, he was standing near the broken window, murmuring something to the car. "It's just the window, Dean." The only response he got was a scowl Dean sent him over his shoulder.

"I can't believe you actually let him smash your window." Castiel turned to face Sam. He was smiling wide, clearly holding trying to hold back from laughing at his brother's pain. 

"Don't kick a man when he's down, Sammy." Dean didn't turn around. He was resting his forehead against the roof of the car, making the whole thing look like a scene in a romantic movie really. "And the keys are in my pants, which I had to leave behind in the forest when I was turned into a god damn cat. Fucking witches, man."

"We can go look? If you remember where it was." Castiel shook his head with a smile when Dean sighed dramatically. 

"Yeah, you guys go do that. I'm gonna go to the motel to take a shower." Dean turned around immediately when Sam was finished talking. 

"And then we're going out for beers!" Dean looked from Sam to Castiel a few times, nodding enthusiastically with a hopeful smile on his face. Castiel looked at Sam, and then pulled out his phone to check the time. Sam moved closer and looked down at the phone as well.

"It's only eleven, I'll meet up with you after." Sam gave Dean a sort of 'trust me' smile before he turned to leave. Castiel lifted an eyebrow to Sam's retreating figure, but didn't mention to Dean that the promise didn't seem very genuine. 

"You're in, right? Got nowhere else to be?" Castiel folded his arms at Dean's comment and put on a sad expression.

"Are you suggesting I have no life, Dean?" Castiel put a hand to his heart. "I'm hurt, truly." Dean waved a dismissive hand, a playful smile on his face as he turned back to the car.

"You already told me that you mostly stay in and that your two friends are out of town, -" Dean put his hands on his hips. "I'll just have to hot wire her and drive her someplace safe for the night. Do you have somewhere she can stay?" 

"I don't have a garage, but.. Balthazar does. I'm sure he won't mind if we borrow it, he never uses it anyway." Dean unlocked the door and started to brush glass out from the seat, mumbling something to himself. 

"You have a key to it?" Dean gestured for Castiel to get in the car after the glass was all out. "And is it far away?" Dean looked at Dean from the other side of the car. Castiel shook his head.

"No, it's in the middle of town. The garage is always open, since it's empty anyway." Castiel got in the car, trying to close the door as carefully as possible. Dean on the other hand, slammed the creaking door shut and then started to do whatever it is car thieves do under beneath the dash. Wires soon poked out and though it didn't go as smooth and fast as in the movies, Castiel noticed that it worked the same way. "Who taught you that?" 

"My dad," Dean mumbled. The car started, the noise loud and rumbling. Dean laughed triumphantly and looked at Castiel. "Listen to her purr," he said with a proud face. Castiel laughed and shook his head when Dean let his hand glide over the steering wheel before he pulled out from the curb and started to drive. "Where to?" Castiel guided him to Balthazar's house, and then to the garage on the backside of it. 

"Balthazar is a 'go big or go home' kinda guy," Castiel said when Dean commented on how big the house was for two people. "And he likes to spoil his boyfriend." Dean laughed.

"I bet his boyfriend likes it too." Castiel agreed and then got out to open the garage for Dean. The garage was the only thing on the property that wasn't modernized at all. The house wasn't that old, but Balthazar was fond of using money, so he had fixed the house up in all ways imaginable. "Would be nice to have someone to spoil. Well, I'm not rich, but like with cute things or whatever." Castiel didn't quite know what to say to that, at least not when Dean looked sort of sad while admitting it, so he changed the subject instead.

"Which bar do you want to go to?" Castiel asked. Dean seemed to appreciate the save and smiled again.

"The closest one is good enough for me. Oh, I should call Bobby to let them know where we are." Dean patted his pockets, then pouted. "Right. No phone." Castiel already had his out and offered it to him. "Thanks." After a phone call that included a lot of pleas for the others to join them out, Dean hung up after he had worn them down and they agreed to come to the bar Castiel had named. 'Purgatory' wasn't the best bar in town, but it was familiar for Castiel since Balthazar often had parties and dragged him along to the closest bar when he was out of alcohol he liked at home. Castiel usually agreed to go, then slipped out and went home as fast as possible. He had a feeling he would stay tonight.

"Is Bobby your uncle or something? You seem close." Dean shrugged, a soft smile on his face. He acted different when he was alone with Castiel, a bit softer, a bit more carefree. 

"He might as well be. He's been there for Sam and me for as long as I can remember, always giving us a place to stay or food if we needed it. Never asks for anything in return." Castiel could somehow relate to that. Even though he and Gabriel didn't meet up often outside of work, he did see him as a sort of big brother. He'd taken him in and given him a job, a purpose, when the rumors and whispers about him had been at their worst. "Jody is like a mom and Donna.. Well, I guess she'd be like a stepmom if Jody ever got her head out of her ass." 

"Is she in the closet?" Dean scratched his chin and shrugged.

"Not exactly, just.. I think it's easy for her to accept that she's bi, but not as easy to actual admit to a girl that she likes her." Castiel thought about it, and only then it was obvious. Jody had stolen glances in Donna's direction when she thought no one was looking. Castiel had lived his life in the background, he noticed most things, even if he was very oblivious to some things. 

"I can understand that. If she's never been in a relationship with someone of the same sex before, it can be hard to adjust." Dean looked over at him, but they kept on walking. 

"You been in the same position?" Dean asked. Castiel chewed on his lips and thought back to when he had a crush on Balthazar. It was years ago and he never did anything about it, mostly because he was sure it wouldn't last. Balthazar was.. Well, he was Balthazar. Castiel was the odd one out. It didn't stop drunk-Castiel from making a move and, since Balthazar was who he is, he didn't decline. The sex was great, and it helped Castiel accept who he is, but they never talked about more. 

"Not.. Entirely the same, no. My first experience with sex was a guy, but the first person I dated was a girl. Actually, I've never officially dated a man, now that I think about it." Dean hummed.

"Took me a few years after my dad died before I got comfortable with being bi," Dean admitted.

"If I have to put a label on it, I think I'm pansexual. Gender never really mattered to me. Still doesn't." Before they could continue their conversation, the ten minute walk to the bar was over. Bobby and Jody was waiting for them outside. Dean waved and jogged over, while Castiel continued his relaxed walk. He was a bit nervous. 

"Where's Donna and Sam?" Dean asked. 

"Donna went to the motel to get him after dropping us off here," Bobby explained. Dean grinned in response and then gestured for Castiel to hurry up. They entered the bar, all of them stopping for a few seconds by the door to look around.   
The bar was sort of split up in two parts, with the bar in the middle of the building. The part they stood in now had tables, booths and bar stools by the bar. The other part, which was on the other side of the bar, had four pool tables and benches and small tables by the walls. The music was louder in the part they were standing in, so Castiel preferred the part with pool tables. 

"Oh, let's play!" Dean was a bit more eager than the rest of the group. "I'll get us beers, go get us a table." Dean was halfway to the bar before the group could react, so they just went to the nearest vacant pool table to set up the balls. Castiel stood with his hands behind his backs, just observing the other players around the room. Dean came back with a tray of five beers, placing them on the closest table.

"Why five beers?" Castiel asked. 

"I need two, Cas. I deserve it." Castiel laughed and shook his head. "So! Who's gonna challenge the master?" Jody threw her hands up in defeat and stepped away to grab the beer instead. Bobby simply sighed and looked at Castiel. 

"Uh, I'm not very good at pool." Castiel let out a nervous laugh without meaning to. His mind immediately went to the whole 'I can teach you' romance cliche they did in movies. 

"That's alright, I can teach you!" Because of course Dean would offer that. Castiel was about to dismiss it when Dean simply offered him a cue, a wide smile on his face like he was either totally oblivious to what the cliche Castiel had in mind or, possibly, knew exactly what he was doing. 

"I.. Alright." Castiel took the cue. Bobby was already at Jody's side, both of them speaking in hushed tones with smiles on their faces, occasionally looking at Castiel. Well, they knew at least, that much was sure. "You can start," he said while clutching his cue, like it could somehow protect him from being close to Dean at some point. Actually, Dean might just talk him through it. He would just have to focus on holding the cue right and get the right stance. Easy. Right? 

"Your turn." Castiel blinked when Dean's voice pulled him out from his own head. He nodded and looked over at the table. "I didn't get any down." Castiel nodded again and tried to make some sort of plan about which ball he was going to focus on. He walked slowly to the table and decided which ball he was going to try to get down and which hole to aim for. He bent down and felt like he had the right stance and all. He didn't. "Here, you're standing a bit.. Let me." Dean was suddenly close to him, hands on his hips while he adjusted them just a bit, almost too little for it to seem like it mattered.

"Thanks," Castiel mumbled, knowing his cheeks was bright red at this point. He tried to focus on very not sexy things, but all his mind was thinking about was how long it had been since he got laid. It had been a while. Before Dean could do anything else, Castiel shot, missed and immediately stepped away. "Missed," he said with a strained smile. 

"Right," Dean said with a smirk on his face. He definitively noticed the blush, but luckily he didn't say anything. He got three balls down before he missed a shot, gesturing for Castiel to take a shot. Castiel swallowed hard before he took a step closer to the table, then thought the better of it and went for the beer instead. A little liquid courage couldn't help. "I can show you how to hold the cue better. If you want." Castiel was about to decline, but then thought, why not? 

"Sure, if you want. I told you I wasn't very good at this." He decided on a ball and a hole, then took the same stance as before. Dean definitively knew what he was doing, Castiel was sure of it when Dean got close to him again and moved his hands to put them in a better spot. 

"There you go," Dean murmured in his ear before he moved away. Donna and Sam showed up right after, joining in on the whispering Bobby and Jody had been keeping up the whole time, sending Castiel knowing glances when Dean wasn't looking. By the time the match was over, Castiel was a bit sweaty, but luckily not enough for it to be noticed by anyone. No one played after that, so they sat down in a booth on the other side of the bar, ordering a round of beer first, and then some stronger drinks.

"To Cas!" Sam held up his glass and smiled wide in Castiel's direction while all the others followed his examples. "The man who saved Dean and me from living the rest of our lives as adorable pets." Everyone laughed and clinked their glasses together. 

"I still think I was the most adorable one," Dean said with a playful smile. Sam scoffed but didn't argue. Instead he turned to Castiel. 

"But seriously, thank you. We never would've gotten out of that situation if it weren't for you." Castiel blushed and mumbled a 'thank you' before he saw his chance to change the subject.

"So this is just, like, normal for you?" Castiel asked. Sam, Dean and Bobby nodded, while Jody and Donna shrugged. "Right, you two aren't just hunters? You have a.. Uh, normal jobs as well?" 

"Yeah," Donna said. "I'm a cop, Jody's a sheriff. I got mixed up in two cases before I actually found out that they weren't really FBI agents." Castiel blinked.

"Are there a lot of hunters?" Dean nodded in answer to Castiel's question.

"Sometimes we stumble on each other, some work together, others alone. Some are nice, others.. Not so much." Sam took a deep sigh.

"Like Gordon! Such an asshole." Dean was clearly blushing when Sam mentioned the name. "Had you fooled," Sam said while nudging Dean's shoulder. He snorted and smacked Sam on the back of the head. 

"Shuddup," he mumbled. "Anyway, let's not talk shop now. We rarely have a night off." Sam agreed and they all took a sip of their drinks, trying to figure out what to talk about. Jody and Donna was smiling at each other for a few seconds. Bobby was staring at his drink. Sam was looking around in the bar. Dean was looking at Castiel. 

"I'm gonna get another drink," Castiel mumbled before he ignored the not-so-empty glass he already had before he got up to go to the bar, escaping the intense gaze Dean sent his way. A woman came up to him after he had placed his order, now waiting for his drink. She put a hand on his forearm and smiled up at him. She seemed to be older, maybe in her forties, and she was definitively not Castiel's type. 

"Hey there," she purred. "You come here often, handsome?" Castiel barely contained his snort while trying to back a bit up to get away from her touch. He gave her a polite smile despite the fact that she simply followed him and refused to move her hand off of him.

"No, I'm not usually.. I'm here with my friends and.." He trailed off. Nothing he could say would make her back off, not unless he lied about having a partner, so he opted for a polite rejection. "Look, I'm not really interested." He offered her a polite smile, thanked the universe that his drink arrived and then turned around. She followed, stopping him from moving away from the bar, her hand still on him.

"Don't leave so fast, hmm? We can get to know each other, maybe you'll end up liking me a little more after we've spent some.. Time together." She winked at him. Castiel opened his mouth to tell her to please move away, but was interrupted by another voice.

"I don't think he's interested, honey." Castiel and the woman turned their heads to look at Dean at the same time, though neither of them moved more than that.

"I'm not sure that's any of your business," she said. "Unless you're.." Dean lifted an eyebrow at her, smirking. They all stood in silence for a while before she backed off. Castiel sent Dean a confused look when the woman huffed and then walked away like nothing had happened.

"Sorry if I crossed a line. You just seemed really uncomfortable." Dean moved closer and whispered the words into Castiel's ear, sending a shiver down his spine and heat to his cheeks. He turned an moved a step away.

"No, I - I was. Uncomfortable, that is. Thank you." They smiled and stared for a while before they remembered that they weren't alone. Castiel cleared his throat and made his way to the table. They didn't say anything else about it, but by the looks of everyone at the table, they had seen the whole thing.

"I think I'm gonna head to the motel, get some sleep." Sam chugged the rest of his beer and got up. The rest of the group agreed, Donna hiding a small yawn behind her hand and Jody laughing at her. All got up to leave. Except Dean. "Well.." Sam waited a bit. "Wanna meet up tomorrow? I don't know when we'll leave, but I don't mind staying one more day at least." Castiel smiled and nodded.

"That would be nice," he said. They all said goodbye and walked out, Donna and Jody walking shoulder to shoulder after Bobby and Sam. "So.." Castiel started, looking over at Dean. 

"You don't mind having me over for one more night, do you?" Dean looked hopeful, a shy smile on his face. Again he went back to that soft way of being when they were alone, and Castiel couldn't help but feel kind of good about that. 

"No, not at all." Dean nodded and chugged the rest of his beer. Castiel looked down at his drink, only then noticing that he might've had a bit much to drink. "I can't remember the last time I got a buzz from drinking," he admitted quietly. He pushed the drink away, deciding not to drink the rest of it before he got up, steadying himself on the table.

"Don't worry, I'll support you." Dean laughed and put his arm over Castiel's shoulder. This time his blush was hidden under the red on his cheeks that came from the alcohol. "Should we walk? It'll help with your buzz." Castiel nodded in agreement and they left the bar. The twenty minute walk was filled with short stories from Dean's childhood and some about Castiel's work. Dean told him about the toy soldiers that was trapped in his car, and how he had put them back in when he had to fix the car up after a crash. Castiel told him about how he somehow got pulled into a drama between two cats that was living together, but hated each other. Dean told him about the time he took Sam out to a field and they celebrated the beginning of a new year, with fireworks and everything. Castiel told him about the cat he had been friends with when he was young, and about his owner, Anna. 

"She was nice," Castiel slurred at the end of the story, just in time for them to arrive at his house. Dean laughed at him as he struggled a bit with getting the key in and then he helped him steady himself while they went inside. "I'm a little dizzy." Castiel giggled. He felt more relaxed now, and the alcohol had hit him a bit harder after they had left the bar. 

"I think you're a little bit drunk," Dean commented. Castiel looked up at him after he had gotten his shoes off. He was staring at Castiel with a soft smile, so he grinned back at him. 

"I'm not that drunk, just a little drunk." They stood like that for a while before Dean moved a bit closer, hesitating only a little before he closed the distance, putting a hand on Castiel's cheek. He waited a bit, obviously giving Castiel the chance to back out, before he kissed him softly. He pulled back, but didn't get very far before Castiel put a hand on the back of his head and moved to kiss him. It was more heated, desperate and clumsy, and soon Dean's back hit the wall and Castiel's tongue were in his mouth. 

"Cas," Dean whispered against his lips when they pulled apart for a few seconds to breathe. Hearing Dean say his name like that only motivated Castiel more, so he grabbed a handful of Dean's hair and pulled him in for a kiss again. They didn't rush, both enjoying just making out lazily, exploring each other's mouths. 

"This is getting downright dirty." Castiel jumped back, both he and Dean whipping their heads to see who was there. Castiel furrowed his brows. The door had been locked. The short man standing a few feet away from them lifted an eyebrow in Castiel's direction before he turned his attention back to Dean. "It's been a while, Dean."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might be a little bit late posting this. Do I have a reason? Why, yes. Yes, I do. It's a dumb one. I did write the chapter nearly done. I was 4000 words deep when it hit me.. Sam and Dean was wandering around naked. I never dressed them after they turned back. And so I started all over, and here we are!


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Did you guys get some sleep?" Jody asked from the passenger seat, a knowing smile on her lips as she looked in the mirror back at Castiel and Dean, both of them blushing a bit. Then, almost at the same time, they remembered what had actually happened last night, which was nothing to blush about.
> 
> "Shit," Dean mumbled. "Crowley showed up." The car swirled a bit before Donna got a hold of herself and Jody had turned around to look at the two of them, wide eyes. "Not like that!" Dean hissed when no one said anything.

"It’s been a while, Dean.” Castiel took a few steps back and a little closer to Dean, which made him feel a bit more safe. He wondered to himself if Dean was armed. Dean let out a bitter laugh.

"What the hell are you doing here, Crowley? I thought we'd agreed to stay out of each others way." Dean folded his arms, his face showing clear annoyance, though Castiel couldn't be sure if it was because it simply was a person he hated or because they had been interrupted in the middle of a very enjoyable make-out session. Probably both. 

"Yes, well, don't kill the messenger." The man – Crowley, had both his hands behind his back, making he seem like he was hiding something. He didn't appear threatening though, and if he had an agreement with Dean there must be a reason. Castiel tried to focus on that. 

"Couldn't just call?" Dean spit back. It didn't take him long to realize why that might've been a bad suggestion. Crowley sighed. 

"I did," he said. "You're a hard man to find. Whatever the case, I come baring news of yet another women you have successfully pissed off. My dear mother." Dean furrowed his brows and shook his head slightly.

"Haven't come across someone that is old enough to be your mother, old man." Crowley lifted an eyebrow. "Unless.." Dean looked briefly back at Castiel before he focused back on Crowley, his lips pursed down in a frown.

"We had quite a laugh when she told me about your little encounter. I'm sure you were much more enjoyable as a small, furry creature." Crowley smirked. "She didn't as much ask, as she demanded that I helped her get the revenge she feels she deserves." Dean immediately put himself right in front of Castiel. 

"We have an agreement to -" Crowley shushed him.

"Yes, I know. I don't piss you off, you don't bother me. I'm simply here to warn you that even though I refused to help, others might be more willing to kill the famous Winchester's." Crowley now focused his gaze behind Dean, looking with interest on Castiel. Before any of them had a chance to react, Crowley stood in front of Castiel.

"Back off," Dean hissed. Crowley simply looked Castiel up and down, while Castiel walked back until he hit the wall. He gasped when Crowley's eyes turned red, the color seemingly floating around his eyes. He blinked, his eyes normal again. 

"I'm merely curious. You seem awfully protective of this one." Crowley smiled a scary, but somewhat polite smile, then vanished without a trace. Castiel stared straight forward, not really comprehending the fact that a man had somehow moved from one spot to another without moving at all, then vanished into thin air.

"Cas?" Castiel flinched away when Dean touched his arm. Dean held both his hands up. "It's just me." Castiel tried to relax, but found it hard. That was no witch, that much he knew. No, that was something much more dangerous than a witch. Castiel wondered what other creatures Dean hadn't told him about. 

"What was that?" Castiel didn't mean to make it sound like an accusation, but he felt like Dean had lied. Avoiding to mention something is lying. Castiel took a step back again. Not that he felt threatened, he just needed space. "That wasn't a witch," he added. Dean's face fell.

"It.. No. He's not a witch." Dean had one arm hanging down and was holding his elbow with the other.

"You've never mentioned.. You only ever spoke of witches." Castiel could clearly see Dean swallow, his jaw clenching. 

"I didn't want to scare you. There's no reason for you to be pulled into this any more than you already are, Cas." Dean's eyebrows was knitted together. Castiel knew, or was at least convinced that Dean meant that. But he had still lied.

"Than I already am," Castiel mumbled, looking down at the floor. "Which means you aren't planning on coming back." Castiel walked around Dean, holding a hand to the side of his head, feeling a headache coming on. If it was from the whole situation or from the alcohol, he didn't know. 

"No, I – I didn't.. I don't know, I don't have a plan, Cas!" Dean walked after him, sounding just as frustrated as Castiel was. Castiel shook his head carefully, moving to the kitchen to get a glass of water. "Cas, come on." Castiel didn't get further than the living room before Dean grabbed his elbow. Castiel immediately pulled away, turning to Dean. 

"Do you do this in every town? Lead someone on, not mentioning that you're leaving at some point? Was it just to get in my pants?" Castiel tried to keep his voice down, mostly because his head hurt at the sound of any noise now. "I'm so dumb!" Castiel turned around and stomped to the kitchen, getting himself a glass of water and some painkillers from a drawer, taking to pills and gulping down most of the water in the glass before he put it in the sink.

"No, it's not like that!" Dean followed Castiel when he left the kitchen, when he walked to the hallway and when he came up to his bedroom door. "Cas, please, just - just listen, please?" Castiel cursed internally, but stopped and turned to Dean.

"What, are you gonna give me that 'you're so much more' bullshit before you inevitable leave?" Dean flinched, which, despite the situation being Dean's fault alone, made Castiel feel bad for him.

"I like you. I'm not gonna lie, I'm not exactly.. I've been with a lot of people, but I always make it clear that I won't stay. I didn't want to say that to you." Dean put both his hands over his stomach, clutching at the sides of his stomach, looking more vulnerable than Castiel had ever seen him. Not that Castiel had seen him much. He barely knew him. "I wanna stay," Dean mumbled. 

"But you're not going to," Castiel shot back. Dean quietly shook his head. Castiel huffed a bitter laugh. "I'm not naive, I knew you were gonna leave, Dean. It's fine. But don't lie to me." Dean clenched his jaw again, staring at Castiel without blinking. 

"I'm not lying, I wanna.." Castiel folded his arms, waiting for more. "I wanna come back. I can't give you more than that, I have to leave, but I - I can come back." Castiel furrowed his brows, looking at the wall instead of Dean. He knew it wasn't just about that, it wasn't just the fact that Dean would leave.

"He wasn't human," Castiel said eventually, looking at Dean again. 

"No," Dean mumbled. "But he's not gonna hurt you, I won't let him come back here. You don't have to worry about him." Castiel snorted.

"That's bullshit, Dean, and you know it. You don't get to decide what information to keep from me." Dean rubbed his neck and sighed.

"You're right. I'm just so used to hiding everything from.. Well, everyone. People knowing the truth, it - it doesn't go that well, most of the time. That's the reason why I didn't say anything, I didn't do it just because I was going to leave." Castiel bit his lower lip. 

"Tell me," he prompted. Dean looked at him with a pleading look, like he was going to beg him not to make him do this, but his expression quickly changed. 

"Most creatures exists. Fairies, Werewolves, Demons.." Castiel closed his eyes, rubbing his hands over his face. His pulse quickened, and he wondered for a second if he might've been better of not knowing. If he would be safer if he had asked Dean to leave immediately. It didn't last for more than a second. He didn't regret it. He might later though. 

"And Crowley?" Castiel asked.

"Demon. King of Hell, but he's actually kind of soft for a Demon." Dean huffed a laugh, but shut his mouth quickly when Castiel glared at him. "Sorry," he mumbled. 

"You know I'm in this now. If Rowena wants revenge, I'm part of the group she wants revenge on." Dean closed his eyes and shook his head. 

"I know, I know!" He turned away, leaning his back and head against the wall. Castiel took a deep breath. He believed him, he did. Maybe it was because he was in shock, but that didn't matter that much right now. A problem for future me, Castiel thought. "I'm sorry. I never should've let you come with when we went to that house, if I had just told you no this wouldn't -" 

"Dean." Castiel walked a bit closer, putting a comforting hand on Dean's shoulder. Dean opened his eyes, looking down at his hand. "This isn't your fault. You should've been honest with me, but I was the one who went with you. You wouldn't have been able to stop me." Dean shrugged.

"Could've clawed at you until you went back inside," he mumbled. Castiel couldn't help but laugh, blaming it on the fact that he is still a bit drunk. Dean smiled down at the floor, but his smile fell after a few seconds. "Cas, I'm sorry." They stood in silence for a while before Castiel decided what to do.

"We should sleep." Dean's head snapped up to look at him. 

"You don't want me to leave?" Dean asked, brows furrowed together. Castiel shrugged.

"Not really. It's late." Castiel opened the door to his bedroom and Dean pushed himself away from the wall.

"I'll take the couch," he said with a soft smile. Castiel fiddled with the hem of his t-shirt, a slight blush spreading on his cheeks. 

"You could just.. Sleep with me. If you want." Dean blinked several times, mouth partially open. "You don't have to if -" Dean shook his head.

"I want to! I just didn't think you.." Castiel shrugged again and walked into the bedroom. Dean hesitated but followed, standing next to the bed that was placed almost in the middle of the room, since the room was quite small. He watched when Castiel pulled his t-shirt over his head, but looked away quickly when Castiel turned towards him. They both undressed in silence, until both stood in only their boxers. Castiel slid under the covers first, Dean following his lead. Dean laid down on his side, face away from Castiel.

"What about Angels?" Castiel asked after a few minutes of silence. Dean turned then, so they were almost nose to nose. "Do they exist?" 

"Haven't met one. Have heard some rumors about other hunters that say they have." Dean licked his lips, Castiel following the movement before he spoke again.

"Do you believe they exists?" Castiel asked. "Hell does, so.." 

"I want to believe, but.." Dean fixed his pillow, putting one arm under it. 

"But?" Castiel prompted.

"If Angels exist, God exists. A God that allows all this evil to do whatever they want on Earth." Castiel hummed. "I guess the idea of a God like that just makes it all seem so... Unfair." Castiel had thought about it before. His mother was religious, a proud christian, but she didn't exactly follow the Bible. One of those hypocrites that only spoke of the parts of the Bible they found convenient. Condemning homosexuality, but cheated on her husband. 

"I believed in God when I was young. Figured it was the only explanation for how I am." Castiel scratched his nose. "It didn't stick." 

"Your family religious?" Castiel nodded.

"I'm named after an Angel. To me it's just a weird name though, the other kids weren't that nice about it." Dean bit his lip, then reached out his right hand and gently put it on Castiel's cheek, stroking his thumb up and down.

"It suits you," he murmured. Castiel had his eyes closed, enjoying the gentle touch. He only opened them when Dean pulled his hand back and moved to lay on his back. "C'mere," he mumbled, holding out his arms. Castiel eagerly complied, putting his head on Dean's chest and putting his free hand over his stomach. Dean laced their fingers together with one hand and put the other around Castiel's waist. Castiel let out a content sigh, reveling in the feeling of being safe.

"Are you leaving tomorrow?" Castiel asked. He wanted to enjoy this, he did, but he needed to know. His life had been, up to this point, filled with routines and comfort zones. Dating someone that not only were risking their lives at work, but who was traveling constantly, that didn't really fit into Castiel's life. That wasn't going to stop him from try.

"I don't know," Dean mumbled at first. Then, after a brief pause, a very certain, "No." Castiel looked at their hands, fingers laced together. They had only known each other for two days, and Dean hadn't really been himself most of that time. Still, as weird as it was, Castiel felt like they had been friends for longer than that. Like they had maybe known each other in another life. He cringed internally at the cheesy thought. 

"How would this even work?" Castiel asked. 

"I don't know. I haven't exactly had time to date in a while. Well, in.. Ever, really. It's always been all or nothing." Castiel rubbed his thumb in a circle on Dean's hand. 

"But you'll come back? When you do leave, you'll come back?" Dean kissed the top of his head. 

"I'll come back," he murmured into Castiel's hair. That was enough for him, at least for now. He couldn't ask for more than that, he knew now that Dean had a lot of people counting on him. 

"What about unicorns?" Dean laughed, which in turn made Castiel grin like an idiot, his head moving with Dean's shaking body. 

"I've never seen one, but I'm convinced they're real, man. I have a bet with Sam about it." Castiel huffed a laugh.

"I hope you win," Castiel mumbled. He yawned, the alcohol now drained mostly from his system and his mind started to slip into sleep. "Good night, Dean," he whispered before he closed his eyes. He heard Dean say something in a hushed voice, but couldn't quite make out what it was before he fell asleep, dreaming of puppies and unicorns. 

\--

"Cas. Wake up." Castiel made a noise that was meant to be a firm no, but that came out more like a grunt. He opened one eye slightly to look at Dean, who was sitting on the other side of the bed, wearing nothing but underwear, laughing at him. "Not a morning person?" Castiel closed his eye again and shook his head against the pillow. "I have coffee." Castiel opened one eye again.

"Give," Castiel mumbled while sitting up, his eyes still mostly closed as he accepted a cup of coffee.

"Demanding." Castiel grunted in response before he yawned. "Are you always this grumpy in the morning?" Dean asked.

"No. Maybe. What time is it?" He blew some air on his coffee, hoping it would be cold enough to drink soon. He had a hard time keeping his eyes open, so he closed them, sitting there in the middle of the bed, smelling the coffee.

"Right after ten," Dean said. Castiel opened his eyes briefly to glare at Dean.

"Too early," he mumbled, but he still couldn't keep a smile off his face when Dean laughed again. "Seriously, we went to bed really late." Dean hummed in agreement, the bed moving a bit when Dean scooted closer to Castiel.

"I didn't wanna waste the day," he murmured into Castiel's ear. He kissed Castiel's neck several times, forcing a small moan out of Castiel's mouth. He had to focus to keep from spilling coffee out of the cup in his hands, while enjoying the absolute bliss that came from Dean's affection. "We could still spend the day in bed though." Castiel snickered.

"So the coffee was just to wake me up so you could - oh." Castiel let out something between a whimper and a moan when Dean nibbled on his earlobe, feeling more awake all of a sudden. His eyes were closed, Dean moving momentarily away to take the cup from Castiel and place it on the nightstand. Dean then crawled up in front of Castiel, straddling his lap. "Dean," Castiel murmured, opening his eyes to look at him.

"Cas." Dean moved slow, like he wanted to give Castiel the chance to stop him, but Castiel was, at the moment, a very weak man. He would most likely do anything Dean asked for at the moment, so he prayed silently that Dean didn't ask for more than he could give. Their lips met, the kiss slow and warm, Dean's mouth tasting like coffee. Soon enough Dean gently pushed Castiel down onto the bed, leaning over him while they continued to kiss, Castiel with one hand in Dean's hair and the other on the small of his back. Dean pulled back to look at him, his pupils almost consuming the beautiful green. 

"The coffee will get cold," Castiel mumbled. Dean grinned and pushed his groin down, grinding it right against Castiel's growing erection. He arched his back off of the bed and moaned loudly. A weak, weak man. 

"I'll make more coffee. I'll make breakfast, anything you want." Castiel laughed, looking up at Dean with a proud smile on his face, like he'd won the jackpot by making him laugh. "What do you want, Cas? Tell me." Dean kissed him again, tongues clashing against each other. They kissed like that for a while before Castiel got a hold of himself, putting a hand gently to Dean's chest, making Dean stop immediately and pull a bit back. "What?"

"I just.." Castiel hesitated. He was so ready for this yesterday, wasn't he? Maybe it had been the alcohol, or maybe the whole 'Demons exists' situation had made him question what he really wanted. Dean urged him on by kissing his forehead, making him smile like the idiot he was. "I wanna take it slow." Dean blinked, smiled softly and flopped down next to Castiel, putting a hand around his waist, a foot in between his legs and his head right next to his. 

"Alright. Then we take it slow." Whatever the reaction Castiel had expected, this wasn't really it. Most men, and even women, took offense when they were told to slow down in the middle of a make-out session. 

"Thank you," Castiel whispered, staring at Dean's eyes. He liked Dean, he liked his body and his face, but his eyes were his favorite part. Such a color could only be described in books. 

"You don't have to thank me, Cas. You can say no anytime." Dean put a hand on Castiel's cheek, stroking his thumb over his skin. 

"I know, I just.." Castiel tried to think of a reason for saying thank you for that, but came up short. "Thank you for being you," was what he went with instead. A good decision really, judging by Dean's very big and very pleased smile. 

"You're such a sap," Dean teased. Castiel snorted and pushed Dean gently away before he got up and swung his feet over the side of the bed.

"You don't have to make me breakfast, Dean." Dean was already halfway out the door when Castiel got up from the bed to find his clothes.

"Too late, I'm doing it!" Castiel blinked after him, then smiled softly to himself, thanking whatever deity that had sent Dean his way. He would take whatever time he would get with Dean, but he hoped that it would - maybe - last something close to forever. Or maybe the feeling he got around Dean would vanish, slowly or all at once, when Dean started to travel again. He hoped that the time Dean would stay this time hadn't been cut short now that he had rejected his advances.

"What are you making?" Castiel asked when he got to the kitchen. Dean was scratching his head while looking in one of the drawers, where Castiel kept bread and some other food products. 

"You don't have a lot of food in here," Dean mumbled. Castiel smiled to himself, walking closer to Dean to wrap his arms around his waist, placing a gentle kiss on his neck. Dean sighed and leaned into his arms, putting his head on his shoulder.

"I haven't had a lot of time to go shopping in the last few days," Castiel shot back, a playful smile on his lips. Dean turned his head slightly and grinned at him.

"You're forgiven. We could go shop now, if you want. Or just eat out." Castiel hummed and kissed Dean, despite the awkward angle. It occurred to him how domestic the whole thing was, sharing lazy kisses before breakfast, not caring about morning breath. "That's not an answer," Dean said when they finally pulled back from each other. 

"We can -" Castiel was abruptly interrupted when sounds came from the hallway. A door being opened, several footsteps entering and the door closing. Castiel reacted on instinct, pulling away from Dean just before Jody and Donna entered the room. They seemed to understand that they had interrupted something, but didn't mention it.

"Heya, guys! We're all going out for breakfast, wanna join?" Donna was smiling wide as usual, which was kind of infectious, causing Castiel to almost forget what they had interrupted. Almost.

"Sure," Castiel said. Dean looked at him with a small pout, but agreed to join.

"We found a cute cafe down the street from the motel," Jody said. "Need a ride?" 

"Yeah, sure, just give us a few minutes." Dean gave Donna and Jody a look, which Castiel took to mean 'leave us alone.' He coughed to cover up a laugh and walked out of the kitchen to go brush his teeth. Dean followed. "Got a toothbrush I can borrow?" 

"Of course." And so there they were, brushing their teeth side by side, bumping shoulders gently every now and then, while Donna and Jody were waiting in the hallway. Castiel tried not to get too weak in the knees of the idea forming in his head, an image of Dean brushing his teeth in his bathroom every morning, sharing kisses with him before and after. Before they left the bathroom, Dean pulled Castiel in for a kiss. 

"Minty," Dean murmured. Castiel huffed a laugh, looking past Dean's shoulder into the mirror while trying to fix his unruly hair. Dean's hair was somehow perfect, like the rest of him. "What?" Castiel blinked and realized that he had been staring.

"Nothing. You look good." Castiel shrugged, hoping to sound casual. 

"I totally woke up like this," Dean said with a grin. He then gave Castiel a quick kiss on his cheek before he disappeared out the door. Castiel squinted after him.

"There's no way he woke up like that," he mumbled to himself before he followed. He resisted the urge to grab Dean's hand when they walked out of the apartment, instead fiddling some extra with his keys. Dean held the door open for him before he walked around to the other side of the car. 

"Did you guys get some sleep?" Jody asked from the passenger seat, a knowing smile on her lips as she looked in the mirror back at Castiel and Dean, both of them blushing a bit. Then, almost at the same time, they remembered what had actually happened last night, which was nothing to blush about.

"Shit," Dean mumbled. "Crowley showed up." The car swirled a bit before Donna got a hold of herself and Jody had turned around to look at the two of them, wide eyes. "Not like that!" Dean hissed when no one said anything. Despite the seriousness of the situation, Castiel let out a sudden laugh. Dean scowled at him.

"What? It's a little funny." Dean ignored him.

"Let's talk about it when we meet up with the others." The rest of the ride was silent, no one really knowing what to talk about after the sudden change of topic. Castiel looked out of the window, his elbow on the car door and his hand under his chin, his thoughts flying just as fast as the buildings outside vanished from his sight. Things like, what would happen now? How would the group of experienced hunters react, and would they make a plan that involved them finding a way to hunt Rowena down? Would they stay? Would Dean stay? "You alright?" Dean's hushed voice pulled him out of his head.

"I'm fine," he said with a smile, turning to Dean. "Just thinking." 

"About what?" Dean was biting on the inside of his cheek. Castiel shrugged instead of answering with actual words, because what would he say? 'No worries, Dean, I'm just a bit scared that I might die and a little sad because you might leave.' Dean didn't look too convinced about the fake laid back attitude Castiel went for, but he didn't press the issue, though it was partially because they were pulling into the parking lot of the motel. 

"It's just a few minutes away," Donna said with a smile. The walk was spent in silence, though it felt a bit more forced now than in the car. Like everyone had to force themselves not to talk, not to ask too many questions and ruin anything. Castiel had never been at the cafe that they entered a few minutes after, but that wasn't strange, since he walked wherever he needed to go and this place was about twenty minutes in the opposite direction of the clinic. The cafe, adorably named 'Small Bean,' was very open and bright, their walls and benches painted in very faded pink and some sort of white shade. They found Sam and Bobby sitting in a booth, already eating some sort of pastry and drinking coffee.

"Damn, did you get mugged on the way here? You look bummed out." Sam laughed at them, while Bobby silently sipped his coffee while waiting for them to explain why they were looking that way.

"Crowley popped in for a visit last night," Dean explained. Bobby choked a bit on his coffee, coughing while Sam blinked several times at Dean. They all sat down in the booth, Donna and Jody next to each other, Dean and Castiel shoulder to shoulder on the other side. "Apparently the witch -" 

"Rowena," Castiel helpfully offered. Dean sighed.

"Apparently, Rowena is his mother." The four that had not known this since last night fell silent. The cafe buzzed around them, waiters walking around to take orders, customers talking about the weather and a dog yelling for food right outside. 

"You can't be serious," Sam eventually said. 

"Unfortunately, I am. But that's not even the bad news!" Sam pinched the bridge of his nose, Donna leaned in closer, while Bobby and Jody simultaneously folded their arms across their chest. 

"Of course it isn't, it's our life." Castiel looked down at the table, thinking to himself that the group of people he was sitting with surely deserved better than.. Well, than everything they had experienced ever.

"Rowena is quite determined to get revenge," Castiel muttered, looking up after speaking. He refused to look in Dean's direction though, after feeling the body next to his tense up. Bobby and Jody didn't seem too surprised. Donna looked a bit sad, and Castiel couldn't look at Sam without catching a glimpse of Dean's face, so he didn't look at him at all.

"She tried to send Crowley after us, but since he has a soft spot for us -" Sam huffed a laugh.

"For you," he corrected. Castiel couldn't help the small pang of jealousy settling down in his stomach. 

"Shuddup. As I was saying, he decided not to help his mother get revenge and offered us the warning, but nothing else." Jody shook her head.

"We should've started planning sooner," she said. Castiel could clearly see Donna's hand move a bit under the table, so he made a note to himself to tell Dean later that it seemed like Jody had finally gotten her head out of her ass. 

"Was that all he said?" Sam asked. 

"Yeah," Dean answered. "No specifics about who, so we're gonna have to assume she wants all of us dead, even.." Castiel finally looked over at Dean.

"Me," Castiel offered in a hushed voice. Dean looked heartbroken. "I don't really have anything to offer here, so.." Sam leaned forward catching his attention.

"We'll keep you safe, don't worry." Then, as if he could read Castiel's mind, he added, "We won't leave you alone, Cas." Dean's hand found its way to Castiel's knee, a gentle squeeze comforting him. The rest of the group started to plan, but all Castiel could focus on was Dean.

"I won't leave, Cas," he said in a hushed voice. Castiel smiled down at the table. "Was that what you were worried about?" Dean asked. 

"No," Castiel mumbled. He looked up at Dean, who was lifting an eyebrow, challenging his denial. "I don't know, maybe." Castiel put his hand over Dean's, stroking his thumb back and forth, a slight blush on his cheeks. He wasn't used to being affectionate in public, or to wanting it. Castiel listened in while the group of five discussed what to do, trying their best to keep their voice down so the people around them wouldn't call the police or the insane asylum. Even though they were only interrupted twice, first by the waitress taking their order and then by another waiter to bring them their orders, they didn't get far in the planning. Mostly because the only thing they could do was the same as Rowena did - send someone after her. The only problem, as Castiel understood it, was who they wanted to trust with this.

"I'll talk to Alex when I get home. As long as she is with people I trust, I don't mind her going, if she wants to help." Jody had a proud look on her face while explaining to Castiel that Alex was her adoptive daughter. She was taking some classes to become a nurse, but she did enjoy a hunt now and then. Jody promised him he would get to meet her later, but did not get further into how she came to adopt her after they met during a hunt.

"Think we can convince Charlie to do one last job?" Dean asked the group. Castiel chewed slowly on the muffin he was eating, listening intently to all the ideas and names being thrown around.

"I don't want to pull her back into this, she's getting married soon." Sam's tone was final, so no one argued, not even Dean. 

"Aw, I'm so glad she invited me!" Donna said. She jumped a bit up and down, then looked at Castiel. "I'm sure Dean will take you as his -" 

"Anyway!" Dean interrupted, squinting his eyes at Donna. Castiel and Donna shared a smile when Dean looked at Sam to continue. "What about Eileen?" He grinned. Everybody turned to Sam.

"I.." He cleared his throat. "I can ask her. I don't know where she is at the moment." Dean seemed to be pleased by the answer, not pushing any further. Castiel could clearly see that Sam was blushing, so Dean really was right about him pining for Eileen. It was too obvious for anybody not to notice.

"Alright, Eileen and Alex. Since Alex is so young, we should get more people as well." Bobby nodded in response to Dean's statement.

"Jesse and Cesar is retired. Rufus is not good with people." Bobby took his cap off, scratching his head for a few seconds before he put it back on. "I'll head home after this, go through all the names." Dean nodded.

"I'll stay here," Dean shot in, a statement no one commented on or argued with. Castiel let out a small breath of relief. 

"I'll go with Bobby, get a hold of Eileen. What about you too?" Sam smiled at Donna and Jody. 

"We'll go home, talk to Alex. We probably have some time before something happens." Everyone agreed with Jody. At this point everyone was done eating, so they said their goodbyes before leaving. Donna hugged Castiel tightly.

"Don't worry about nothing, honey. We'll fix this." Donna squeezed his arm before she turned to leave, Jody offering him her hand before following. 

"By the way, we found your things, Dean." Dean beamed up at Sam, smiling from ear to ear as a result of the good news. "I'm not sure if your cellphone made it, but at least your keys are okay. Come on." Castiel and Dean followed Sam and Bobby to the motel, going back to the room that was trashed the last time they were there. The same girl that had been there the last time sat in the reception, blowing a bubble of gum and looking at Castiel with hooded eyes.

"Where's your service cat, dude?" she asked, one eyebrow lifted. Castiel blinked and tried to think of something to say when Dean grabbed his hand. 

"No need for a cat when he has me," he said with a grin. She huffed a laugh before she looked down at the magazine she was reading again.

"Whatever, Hasselhoff." Castiel pulled a very shocked Dean down the hall, laughing at his face.

"Not used to people sassing you back, huh?" Castiel asked while they waited for Sam to unlock the door. Dean let go off his hand, folding his arms across his chest.

"She called me old, dude," he mumbled. Still, Castiel could see a small smile on his lips. Sam threw Dean his keys and cellphone when they got into the room. "Do they sell chargers at the store by your house?" Dean asked. Castiel snickered while examining the very old phone.

"I don't think they sell chargers to such old phones, Hasselhoff." He grinned at Dean and tapped the cellphone twice. He hadn't seen a phone with buttons in a very long time. It seemed that being called old was Dean's sore spot, judging by the way he pushed Castiel away while muttering something about not being old. "We'll just get you a new one," Castiel offered. 

"Yeah, Dean, get with the times." Castiel and Sam shared a laugh, while Bobby simply shook his head at the teasing. "Anyway, are you two sure you'll be fine on your own? I'm sure we have time before she sends someone, but we can't be sure.." Dean held up a hand.

"I'm perfectly capable of protecting one person," he said.

"Aw, my hero." Castiel bashed his eyelashes at Dean, causing him to let out a small laugh.

"You guys are adorable. Anyway, if you're sure." Dean nodded and turned away from Sam, looking at Bobby, who was busying himself with packing down some stuff. Castiel tried not to focus on the fact that he was currently holding a gun and a machete, only then remembering the gun he had at home.

"Oh, I have your gun at my house, Sam. We should -"

"You had Cas take a gun to his house? Dean!" Sam folded his arms, looking more like a scolding father than a little brother. Not that he looked like a little brother at any time. Bobby sighed deeply and left the room, muttering something under his breath that sounded like 'idiot' with a heavy accent.

"What? Something could've happened!" Sam scoffed.

"Yeah, and I'm sure Cas is used to guns and shooting people. Oh, or were you talking about you? Little kitten with a gun, that's -" Dean snatched up and threw a pillow from the bed in Sam's face, which started a small pillow fight between them, up until Cas cleared his throat. They froze, like they had forgotten he had been standing there. "Anyway," Sam mumbled. Sam packed down all the stuff and they got out in the hallway, Sam and Dean still bickering a bit. Dean wasn't doing a very good job at justifying himself, but Castiel didn't say that out loud. He simply held up his hands when Sam tried to get him to meddle. Bobby was already on his way down the stairs at the end of the hall, leaving the three of them behind.

"Do you always bicker this much?" Castiel asked to diffuse the situation. It seemed to work.

"Definitively," Sam said with a grin. "You'll need to know this since you and Dean -" 

"I'm hungry again." Sam and Castiel each raised an eyebrow to the other when Dean wasn't looking. 

"He doesn't date much," Sam whispered to Castiel, causing him to blush. Of course he knew it was obvious, especially to Sam, but this was the first time someone, other than his own mind, had used the word 'date' about the thing that they had going on. Was it dating? It seemed like they had just hopped right into a relationship. 

"Oh," was all Castiel could muster in response. "Oof!" Dean had stopped walking suddenly, causing Castiel to walk straight into him. When he looked over Dean's shoulder, he saw Bobby standing at the top of the stairs, gesturing for them to be quiet. Dean turned and put a hand to Castiel's chest. 

"Stay here," he whispered. Castiel watched as they silently communicating with Bobby. He seemed to be mimicking.. Fangs? That could mean anything, at least in Castiel's head. What horrid creature didn't have fangs. Vampire was the first thing that came to mind. Werewolf was the second. Sam and Dean put guns in the waistband of their jeans, and each one a machete in their hands. Castiel took a step back without meaning to.

"What's - Dean!" Castiel hissed after them, but was promptly ignored as the two hunters - because that's what they were in that moment - walked silently, but quickly, to Bobby. Castiel didn't know what to do, so he simply stood there, arms hanging straight down, mouth hanging slightly open. Sounds from the rooms nearby could be heard, a few cars driving on the road outside was muffled in Castiel's ears, but everything seemed so quiet still. Too quiet. Castiel was just about to take a step back when he heard a door slam open, turning just in time to see a group of three come in the emergency exit at the end of the hall. The emergency exit that, ironically, Sam's room had been right next to so escaping threats would be easier.

"You smell lovely," a woman said with a wide grin on her face, revealing a type of fangs that Castiel had never seen in any movie or show. The two men that was with her, her clearly being the leader, followed her wordlessly. Castiel thought back to all the stupid movies he'd watched over the years, about all the nights he'd spent yelling at the main characters for freezing up and not running away, and decided there and then not to do that again. They were close to him before he could even register what was really happening. "I bet you taste just as good." 

"Don't!" was all Castiel's brain could get out. She looked like a predator, which he supposes she was, just about to pounce on her prey, ripping its throat out. Before he could plead further, a shot rang out in the room, causing Castiel's ears to ring. The woman and two men barely flinched, all of them turning to the source of the noise. Castiel held both his hands over his ears, falling down on his knees. In between the figures that stood in between him and the person that had just saved his life by distracting them, Castiel caught a glimpse of his savior. "Biker Barbie?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I thought to myself, what does Supernatural lack that I can fix in my story? More girls and more gay! 
> 
> Also, I liked how the last chapter turned out, in terms of style, so I edited the other chapters in the same style as well. No other changes, other than maybe a bit of fixing of grammar mistakes and such, so there's no need to read it again. 
> 
> And please be patient with me from here on out, because I have never before in my life actually finished an action scene. Pray for me, silently or in the comments!!


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A little action, a lot of cute, some groping and a determined young hunter.

"Biker Barbie?" Castiel watched in horror as the three creatures moved closer to the girl - because she was clearly just a girl, however tough she looked, weapons ready and body tense. She shot one of the men when he moved to attack her, causing him to fall on his back and claw at his stomach. Castiel could hear the sizzling, he could see the smoke coming from the man's body and the holes in his clothes, but he couldn't for the life of him explain what she had just shot him with. He stayed down while the two remaining creatures charged at the girl, the woman soon suffering the same fate as the first man, but the girl didn't manage to shoot the last man before he was on top of her, grabbing and throwing away her shotgun and machete before she could do anything other than hold him by his wrists to keep him from grabbing her throat, or whatever he was trying to do. 

"I'll rip you apart," the man spat at the girl. Castiel reacted on instinct, moving to grab the machete – not trusting himself to actually shoot someone – and shoved it as hard as he could in the man's back, right between his shoulder blades. He barely reacted, just let out a small growl as if Castiel had just annoyed him no more than if he had bumped into his shoulder at the mall.

"The shotgun, grab the shotgun!" He did as the girl said, grabbing the shotgun, but found it impossible to actually pull the trigger. Before he could force himself to at least try to hit the man, he grabbed the girl and threw her across the room. Castiel watched in shock as she hit the wall and fell to the floor, his stomach dropping when she didn't get up or move at all. He shakily aimed at the man, but didn't get the chance to pull the trigger before he grabbed the shotgun and threw it away. 

"I was told to kill you, but she didn't say that I couldn't have a little fun first." The man grinned and walked towards him slowly, as if to mock him for not running away. He walked backwards, the distance between them not diminishing, but not growing either. 

"Look, I don't.." Castiel wasn't sure what more to say. I've got nothing to do with this? But he did. I'm a nobody? He wasn't, not anymore. He didn't have anything useful to say, so what ended up coming out of his mouth instead of something that could actually save him was, "I really don't taste very good." The man chuckled lowly and sniffed the air.

"You smell sweet, so I very much doubt that." The seconds seemed to slow when he lunged forward, preparing his arms to kill, opening his mouth to bare his fangs. 

"Cas, get down!" Castiel almost turned around to look at Dean, but instead did the only thing he could think of; he let his body fall straight down, using his body weight to quickly follow Dean's order. Which was good, Castiel thought to himself when he heard the shot that rang out in the room, causing his ears to ring. The force of the bullet that hit the man in his head caused him to fall backwards, his still open. Castiel didn't move until a gentle hand was placed on his shoulder, causing him to flinch away without meaning to. "It's me," Dean said. 

"Yeah," Castiel said, realizing that he had been holding his breath. He looked past the corps in front of him. The hallway was empty, apart from the girl that was still laying in the same position as before. "There was two more." 

"Bobby and Sam'll get them," Dean said in a soft voice. "Breathe." He took Castiel's hand, very carefully, and placed it on his own chest. "Breathe with me." Castiel did. He followed the movement, in and out, in and out. 

"I'm alright," Castiel said. "The girl, she's.." Dean followed his gaze, then let go of his hand and moved to check on the girl. 

"Biker Barbie?" Castiel heard Dean mumble. Despite everything, he let out a small laugh. "She's just unconscious." 

"She saved my life." Castiel wanted to go over there, to check on her himself, but he doubted that his legs would be very cooperative at the moment. He was shaking a bit, that he could see on his hands, but he didn't really feel anything. "I think I'm in shock." Dean laughed.

"You'd be crazy not to be. It'll be fine, I'll take care of you. We should probably get her to the hospital though." Dean whipped his head around to look at him. "You're not hurt are you?" Castiel shook his head. "Good. That's good." Castiel turned when he heard footsteps, his pulse quickening a little, but it was only Sam and Bobby. They looked relatively calm, considering the situation, so Castiel reckoned that they were safe. For now, at least. 

"Shit, is she alright?" Sam asked.

"She'll have a headache when she wakes up, but yeah." Dean looked at the machete and shotgun. "She's a hunter? Huh." 

"I think one or two got away," Bobby said. "Hopefully they're smart enough to stay away." Dean nodded, then walked over to Castiel, offering him a hand, which Castiel gladly accepted. His knees wobbled a little and his body felt weird, but he managed to stay up with Dean's support.

"I'll get Cas home. You guys help the girl to the hospital." Sam and Bobby nodded in response, then went over to the girl. "Let's go home," he mumbled. Castiel didn't really need help to stay up now, but Dean didn't pull his arm away from where it was curled around his shoulders. 

"Home," Castiel commented with a playful smirk.

"Yeah, you know, home to - to you. Get you home. To your home." Dean was clearly blushing now. 

"I know you said your car is like your home, but you're always welcome in my home." Dean didn't say anything to that, but he was smiling, so Castiel reckoned it was the right thing to say anyway. Dean helped him in the Impala, drove them to his house, helped him out of the car, in to the house and all the way to the couch. Castiel didn't protest, since the touch was one of the few things keeping him calm at the time. 

"We still need to shop," Dean said, sighing. "I can make you dinner later." Castiel nodded, staring at Dean with his lips slightly parted, wonder written all over his face. All he could think about was that Dean was staying. He would make him dinner, then eat dinner with him, maybe watch a movie with him, fall asleep next to him when the night fell, and.. "You okay?" Castiel blinked.

"Fine! I'm fine, I was just.." He trailed off.

"Thinking?" Dean offered. Castiel smiled and nodded. 

"Just thinking," he mumbled, looking down at the floor. "I'm tired." Dean sat down next to him, placing a hand on his back, stroking it up and down. 

"Probably the adrenaline leaving your body," Dean said. "You should get some sleep before we go shopping for food." Castiel yawned.

"Yeah." This time he did try to protest when Dean moved to support him again, but the words were ignored and Dean pulled him close as they walked to the bedroom. He undressed Castiel slowly and carefully. It was the first time someone had undressed Castiel without it being sexual in any way. Instead of rushing to get the clothes off, throwing them all over the place and falling on the bed, it was intimate in a whole new way. It was loving and gentle and.. Good. It felt good. Dean stopped when Castiel stood in only his boxer.

"Off to bed." Castiel got under the covers, snuggling in and letting out a breath. Dean kissed his head and then turned to leave, so Castiel grabbed his wrist. 

"Stay," he mumbled, already half-asleep. He let go of his wrist when Dean started to undress. He then crawled over Castiel, got under the covers and put his arms around Castiel, pulling him close until they were chest to back, legs tangled together.

"You're amazing," Dean murmured into his ear.

"That was random," Castiel mumbled back. He had been very tired before Dean had joined him under the covers, the feeling of Dean's body so close to his making it hard to focus on sleep. Or anything else for that matter. He really didn't think this through. 

"I mean it. You survived, you still haven't freaked out and.. Well, you're just amazing in general." Castiel huffed.

"If Barbie hadn't been there, I would be very dead right now." Dean pressed a kiss to his neck, then another, and a third one. 

"She would be dead if it wasn't for you," Dean said. "We should probably stop calling her Barbie. I don't think that's her real name." 

"It might be," Castiel retorted. Dean laughed, his body shaking against Castiel's - which didn't really help the situation. 

"Weren't you tired?" Dean asked. He kissed Castiel's neck some more, gentle, soft kissed, causing Castiel to let out a sigh. He closed his eyes and moved his ass a bit, grinding it against Dean's groin, pulling a small moan out of him. "Cas," he breathed, grinding back. 

"You're very tempting," Castiel mumbled.

"And you're a tease," Dean said. "Not that I'm complaining." Castiel did feel a bit bad – for both of them – that he had asked to take it slow. He wanted to go slow, but he also wanted to give into temptation. It was hard to explain, so instead he simply apologized. Dean still hadn't stopped moving and now Castiel could feel a bulge against his ass. "No need to apologize, Cas. I'll live, probably." Castiel snickered. 

"I'm sure you'll be fine," he mumbled. Dean kissed his shoulder. 

"Mm, I might need to take a cold shower." Dean stopped moving, stopped kissing Castiel's skin, and he wanted desperately to tell him to continue. But even though his mind was very okay with the idea, his body was exhausted. 

"We haven't even known each other for a week," Castiel said. "I feel like I've known you longer. Is that weird?" 

"Some people just click. I don't really believe in love at first sight, but that feeling of having known someone longer than you actually have, that I believe in." Castiel nodded against the pillow. "Have you heard that story about how people were actually born with two heads and all that?" 

"Yeah, until Zeus split them up because he feared their power, cursing everyone to search for their other half. It's very sad and at the same time a nice thought." Dean hummed.

"I think so too. In theory at least," Dean murmured while intertwining their fingers together, stroking gentle circles on Castiel's hand with his thumb. "A bit sad if someone spends their life looking for a person if the other person is dead or at the other side of the world."

"Yeah." It was strange how different silence could be, depending on the person you're with. Dean made everything easy – even if the world seemingly had decided not to make it easy for them - and he enjoyed their talks, but also their silence. It was a comfortable kind of silence, where both lay still, only Dean's thumb stroking Castiel's hand gently moving, listening to each others breathing. It took a while before they fell asleep, but eventually the exhaustion of the day caught up to them, the universe offering them a dreamless sleep, just this once. 

–

"Cas. Wake up, babe." Castiel grunted, stretched and opened no more than one eye to look at Dean. He was sitting next to the bed, leaning his chin on his arms that rested on the edge of the bed.

"Did you just call me babe?" Castiel mumbled, a lazy smile on his lips. Dean rolled his eyes and then offered Castiel a cup from the nightstand, trying to wake him with the smell of coffee. 

"Don't you like pet names?" Dean asked. Castiel sat up carefully before taking the cup from Dean, enjoying the smell of it. He rubbed some sleep out of his eyes. 

"I'm just not used to it," Castiel admitted. Dean tilted his head and lifted an eyebrow, seemingly amused by this, or at least interested in the subject. "I've just never been in a relationship with someone that like pet names, I guess. At least not when they were with me." 

"I like pet names," Dean said, in a very serious tone. "So get used to it, sweet cheeks." Castiel was about to take a sip of his coffee, luckily avoiding having to spit it out when he started to laugh. Dean grinned, looking very pleased that he made Castiel laugh. 

"Sure, baby cakes." Castiel smiled as he tipped the cup towards his lips, looking at the amused expression on Dean's face. He looked happy. Castiel wondered if he had always been happy, or if maybe he had something to do with it. He hoped he had at least a little to do with it.

"You have no idea what you've started, pumpkin." Castiel snorted. 

"Are you always this competitive?" Castiel asked. And then, before Dean could answer, "Snuggle bug." Dean threw his head back, clutching his stomach as he laughed. Castiel admired the sight, mesmerized by how much joy he radiated. Despite how much he had lost, despite how much weight he carried around on his shoulders, Dean seemed so carefree. Castiel hoped that if he was suffering deep down, and how could he not really, he would let him in when he needed comfort. 

"I am, yes, and I'll find something that tops snuggle bug one day." Castiel smiled behind his cup.

"I'm sure," he mumbled before taking a sip. Dean patiently watched him drink for a little while, then he carefully took the cup from his hands and put it back on the nightstand. Castiel was about to ask what he was doing, but was silenced when Dean got up on the bed and straddled his lap, kissing him softly. "I need to brush my teeth," Castiel mumbled against his lips. 

"You can't," Dean murmured. "You're trapped here." Castiel laughed, but he knew that he would never push Dean away. Maybe if the house was on fire, but other than that, nothing in the world seemed as important as kissing him right now. Dean leaned more forward, pushing Castiel down on the bed, the kisses turning more desperate, more sloppy. 

"We have to -" Dean silenced him with a kiss, then another. "Get food," Castiel continued in between kisses. 

"Soon," Dean mumbled. "The store -" Another kiss. "Doesn't close -" Two kisses. "For a few hours." Castiel laughed and pushed him away, looking up at him. Dean pouted. 

"If we don't get up now, we never will." 

"Sounds good to me." Dean tried to lean down again, but Castiel stopped him. "Fineeee," Dean mumbled with a pout, rolling over to lay down on his back next to him. Castiel poked him in the side, causing Dean to let out a giggle. 

"You're cute when you pout," Castiel said. He sat up and offered a hand to help Dean get up as well. "Come on." Dean was still pouting but did as he was told anyway. Despite Castiel being as determined as he was to get out of the house to go shopping, it took them another half an hour to even get to the hallway. Dean was determined to distract him with kisses and soft touches. He kissed Castiel before he brushed his teeth, kissed his neck while he actually did and pushed him up against the wall right outside of the bathroom to kiss him some more. That they even made it out the door was some sort of miracle. The store was pretty empty, probably because it was nine pm when they got there, so Dean took the chance to kiss Castiel there too. "Stop being so distracting," Castiel whispered. 

"I was gonna say the same thing to you," Dean shot back. Castiel rolled his eyes and continued down the aisle to get bread. "I want lasagna."

"It's not really time for dinner food," Castiel said. And then, before Dean could start to persuade him in whatever way he felt like, Castiel agreed. "Lasagna does sound good though." Dean grinned and ran off to get the ingredients, dumping them in the basket that Castiel was carrying before he scurried off to get something else. He came back with tons of stuff in his arms.

"I'm making pie," he announced. Castiel didn't say no to that. "We'll watch a movie and make a date out of it." Castiel huffed a laugh.

"Aren't you suppose to ask me on a date before you actually plan it?" Dean waved a hand dismissively.

"I'll persuade you anyway, I know all your sweet spots, Cas." Dean put all the stuff down in the basket and then, without a word, he took it from Castiel. He looked at Dean with one eyebrow raised. "What? It's heavy." They continued down the aisle, but didn't find more they wanted or needed, so they went to the register. Castiel was too quick for Dean, having his wallet out before Dean could argue about why he should pay. 

"You can pay me in other ways," Castiel whispered in his ear while they were putting their groceries in bags. Dean was blushing from ear to ear, which was all kinds of adorable. Castiel decided to make him blush as often as he could. 

“Tease,” Dean mumbled to himself, a shy smile on his face. They walked out of the store with one bag each, their free hands clasped together. Dean was stroking his thumb over Castiel’s skin. They managed to get home and start making food without distracting each other too much. Dean sat on the kitchen counter, watching while Castiel prepared the food, cooking the meat in a pan. “You’re going to work tomorrow, right?” Castiel nodded.

“What are you going to do?” Dean shrugged. 

“Should probably have a talk with Barbie.” Castiel shook his head and smiled. 

“Again, probably not her name.” Castiel looked up when he had to move the pan away from the stove, seeing some movement in the neighbors yard, then groaned. The neighbors dog. Dog. “Shit, I forgot to go to the shelters.” 

“We can go tomorrow, after you’re done with work.” Dean suggested.

“I’d like that,” Castiel said. “I’m thinking about getting a dog.” 

“Is it because Sam was so adorable as a dog? What about a cat?” Castiel simply snorted in response. “You’re a terrible boyfriend, I -” Dean froze. Castiel did too, but only for a few seconds, before he looked over at Dean. He was staring at him with wide eyes. “Uh..” 

“Did you just call me your boyfriend?” Castiel asked with a smirk, which prompted Dean to blush again. “Sam said you don’t date much.” 

“When did he say that?” Dean asked. 

“Right before we almost died,” Castiel said with a chuckle.

“Right. Well, I – I guess I don’t. Date much, that is. What does that have to do with anything?” Castiel shrugged. “Haven’t really had the time.” 

“Why now? With me?” Dean jumped off the counter and walked up behind Castiel, wrapping his arms around his waist.

“You make me happy,” he murmured. Castiel was about to comment on how sweet that was when Dean added, “And really horny, but that’s beside the point.” Castiel rolled his eyes and pushed his ass back a little, pulling a small moan from Dean. 

“You kinda ruined the moment.” Castiel continued to fix the food, putting all the ingredients in the casserole dish, arranging them in the right places. It was hard to keep concentrating when he felt Dean get hard behind him. 

“Yeah, I’m good at that.” Dean waited for him to be done, then pushed the dish away and urged him to turn around, pressing his back against the counter.

“I have to put the oven on.” Dean nodded in agreement, but didn’t move away so Castiel could actually do that. Instead he bucked his hips forward, teasing him with the pressure while he kissed him. Castiel couldn’t help but move his hips too, chasing the friction as his pants got tighter. He moaned when Dean moved his lips down to his throat, kissing him and nibbling on his earlobe. Dean bit gently down on his neck and licked a stripe over it, one hand moving under Castiel’s shirt and up to his chest. It wasn’t until Dean found his nipple and started to squeeze it gently that the last inch of Castiel’s willpower vanished. He forced Dean against the counter and kissed him, pushing his tongue in his mouth and put one hand on his groin. Dean was momentarily surprised, but gave in quickly, one hand pinching Castiel’s nipples and the other holding on tight on the back of his neck.

“Cas – oh!” Whatever he was going to say was cut off when Castiel bit down on his neck. Then he moaned, urging him on. Castiel started to fumble with Dean’s pants, unbuttoning it and pulling down the zipper, letting it fall to his ankles. The kisses were wet and open now, moans being swallowed down and both their breathing labor. Castiel slid his hand down behind the waistband of Dean’s boxer and -

“Oh my god!” Castiel whipped his head around to see none other than Barbie – or whatever her name was – standing there. Before he, or Dean, could react, Sam came jogging into the living room. He immediately put his hands over Barbie’s eyes and put his gaze towards the ceiling. “Let go, I’m not twelve, I’ve seen people kiss, you idiot!” Instead of letting go, Sam moved her out to the hallway.

“You have two minutes to get decent,” he shouted to them. Dean had both his hands over his face.

“I should start locking the door,” Castiel said, laughing a bit at Dean. He kissed the top of his head and moved to pull his pants up. Dean nodded, face still covered. “At least I’ll finally be able to turn on the oven.” Dean peeked through his fingers. 

“I need a cold shower,” he mumbled while closing his zipper. “A very cold shower.” Castiel put the oven on, his stomach growling at the promise of food. 

“Maybe we can take a hot shower later.” Castiel winked at Dean, who was smiling wide.

“Really?” he asked, hope in his voice. Castiel shrugged, trying to seem indifferent, though he was very for the idea. “Tease.” 

“Can you guys wait until we leave at least?” Sam called out. He and Barbie emerged from the hallway. Dean scowled at them.

“Sure we can. Now leave.” Sam shook his head. “God damn it,” Dean mumbled to himself. Castiel didn’t bother to wait for the small light on his oven to light up, he simply put the food in and hoped he would be able to see when it was done. Hopefully Sam and Barbie would stay until the food was done, because if he was alone with Dean before that time, the house might just burn down. “What’re you doing here, Barbie?” She glared at him, arms crossed.

“Her name is Claire,” Sam clarified. “She wants to help hunt the witch down.” 

“Rowena,” Castiel offered. “How old are you?” he asked Claire.

“I’m nineteen, so don’t come with that ‘you’re just a kid’ shit.” Castiel held his hands up in surrender. She did look a little younger than she actually was. Castiel was just four years or so older than her, so using the age card wasn’t really an alternative. “And if anyone’s gonna kill Rowena, it’s gonna be me.” 

“She turn you into a cat too?” Dean asked, getting a confused look in return. “She turned me – never mind. What did she do to piss you off?” Claire looked Dean straight in the eyes when she answered.

“She killed my mother.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a little shorter because I suck but here you go! I put out some other stuff too, since my mind got sidetracked, but this story seems to be the most popular if I'm going by kudos. (Which is all I have to go by at this point, comments please??) \ (•◡•) /
> 
> Sorry for any errors, I don't have anyone that can go over it before I put it out and English is not my first language. (Maybe I'll put some of my first language in the story?? Stay tuned!)


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Claire has a lot in common with the Winchesters, an old friend asks for help and Castiel gets disappointed.

"She killed my mother." The whole room went quiet. Sam didn't look surprised, only sad, so Claire must've told him already. Castiel put a comforting hand on Dean's back, stroking up and down. "I'm not here for pity or whatever, I just want revenge." Dean nodded. 

"I guess that's a good enough reason. We won't stop you." Dean folded his arms, looking a little like a dad scolding his child. "And you don't go alone." Claire rolled her eyes dramatically.

"I'm not an idiot, of course I won't go alone!” She shifted her weight from one foot to the other, looking away and then mumbled, “I just don't know a lot of hunters.." Sam cleared his throat and stepped forward.

"We can help with that," he said. "We're working on finding a group to hunt her." Claire turned to look at Sam.

"You need more than the four of us?" she asked. Castiel snorted. 

"I'm not a hunter," he explained when she looked at him. "I would've thought that obvious." Claire shrugged.

"I needed saving too. I just assumed you were a hunter in training or something." Dean held up a hand.

"Absolutely not, he's not a part of this." Castiel and Sam shared a look. "Well, just - he is, it's just.. It's complicated. He's not a hunter. Whatever, we have others to handle this, you included." 

"None of you are going? I thought the two of you were hunters at least?" Claire looked to Sam and then back to Dean.

"We are, but we can't go after her." She tilted her head. "It's -"

"Complicated," Claire offered. "Yeah, I got that. So who am I hunting with then?" Castiel didn't really have more to offer to the conversation, so he checked on the food and then moved to get plates and glasses out. Dean didn't move after, but he did keep an eye on him, like he was expecting him to be attacked at any moment. 

"Jody and Donna, Bobby are fixing the rest. All of you should definitively meet, get to know each other before you hunt together, and come up with a plan. I hope you're ready to invest everything in this." Claire nodded firmly.

"I don't have anything keeping me here, just.." She looked at the floor. "My father, I'm gonna have to find someone that can keep an eye on him." Castiel put the plates he'd gotten out down on the counter, turning his attention to the conversation again.

"Is he sick?" Sam asked. Claire laughed, though it was a bitter tone to it. She shook her head.

"Well, not.. Exactly. He drinks, sometimes he forgets to eat." Dean clenched his jaw and Sam sent him a look that Castiel couldn't quite understand the meaning of, but it seemed to calm Dean down. His eyes wandered to Castiel for a few seconds before he turned his attention back to Claire.

"I'm staying here, so I can check in on him." Claire opened her mouth, looking like she was about to protest, but then closed it again. She nodded. "We'll get in touch with Jody, you can stay with her until all of this is over. She'll take care of you." Claire huffed.

"I don't need to be taken care of, I'm -" Dean laughed.

"An adult, yeah, yeah. Jody takes care of everyone, doesn't matter if you're nineteen or five, so you better fix your attitude, young lady." Castiel smiled, his eyes on Dean. Claire simply sighed in defeat.

"Do you guys wanna stay for dinner?" Castiel asked. 

"We don't want to, uh, impose." Sam grinned. Dean punched him lightly on his arm. "Yeah, sure, we'll stay." Claire shrugged and wandered to the living room, looking around. "Where's the bathroom?" Sam asked. Dean just about shoved him out of the kitchen and in the direction of the bathroom, then hurried back to the kitchen. Castiel was bending over to check on the lasagna in the oven. He jumped up when Dean put a hand on his ass. 

"Couldn't resist," Dean murmured as he pushed Castiel gently against the counter, kissing him slowly. Castiel laughed against Dean's lips, playfully trying to push him away.

"We have company," he whispered, though his heart wasn't really in the protest at all. It was very tempting to just give Sam and Claire the lasagna when it was done and send them on their way, but that would be extremely rude, even if the two of them would understand. That didn't make it any better either. Dean pouted. "Later, Dean." One last kiss, and then he pushed Dean more firmly away. 

"Later," Dean mumbled. Castiel smiled and shook his head. "What? I'm adorable." Dean grinned. 

"Yes, but you can be adorable and distracting some other time. The food is done." Dean simply followed him with his gaze while he fixed everything. "What?" Castiel asked after putting the lasagna on the counter. 

"Nothing. You're pretty." Castiel blushed. Dean smiled and placed a kiss on his cheek before he went to the living room. "Food's ready." They ate in the living room with the TV on in the background, though no one was paying attention to the show that was on. They were too busy listening to Claire telling them how she got into hunting in the first place.

"My mother never hid from me that she was a hunter, but she didn't really want me hunting either." Dean nodded in understanding. "My dad.. They argued about it a lot, but eventually she did start to train me. Said I was too stubborn for my own good." 

"But your dad wasn't a hunter?" Dean asked. She shook her head in response before she continued. 

"I went on my first hunt with my mom and a couple of other hunters when I was sixteen. I'd been nagging for her to take me with for years by that point." Castiel tried to wrap his head around it, but couldn't quite understand why someone would want that lifestyle. Then again, maybe he would've wanted the same if his father had been a hunter. He couldn't even try to imagine that though. He never would've followed his mother the same way, but maybe.. Yeah, he'd probably follow his father like Claire had followed her mother. She told them about her first kill, a vampire two towns over, and about how her mother had taken her out for ice-cream after. "She was always weird. Rewarding me for killing with ice-cream, like I was five years old or something." She had a fond smile on her lips while pushing food around on her plate.

"How.. When did she die?" Sam asked. Claire didn't answer right away. Instead she stuffed food in her mouth, even though she had barely touched the food until then. Maybe she was gathering courage to talk about it, or maybe she was trying not to cry. Probably both. 

"It was just the two of us. It was last year and she figured I was ready to take on more responsibility, since I had turned eighteen and all." She swallowed hard. "Guess I wasn't." She didn't say anything else, and no one wanted to push her. Instead Dean started to tell her about the others. About how Bobby was like a father to them, and how they had met Jody on a hunt and saved Donna on another. How Jody had saved Alex from vampires and then promptly adopted her, encouraging her to not dedicate her life only to hunting. 

"Alex works at a nursing home when she's not hunting," Sam added when Dean stopped talking. "You'll like her." Claire smiled and nodded, but didn't comment. She must've grown up pretty isolated, being an only child and a hunter. Now, without her mother and with her father an alcoholic, it couldn't be much better. Castiel and Dean put the dishes away while Sam called Jody. 

"How soon can we throw them out without being rude?" Dean whispered into Castiel's ear when they were done. Castiel laughed and kissed Dean on the top of his head.

"I'm guessing that they'll leave soon on their own volition," he whispered back. He turned to look behind them and, when he was sure that no one was watching, he palmed Dean's groin. He let out a moan, then bit his lip to keep quiet. 

"If you do that again, I'll kick them out right now." Dean growled, sending shivers down Castiel's spine.

"Dean." They both turned to look at Sam, Dean scowling at him while Castiel was blushing. Sam wasn't smiling though, he looked.. Annoyed, if anything. He held his phone up. "Benny wants to talk to you." Dean flinched, then looked at Castiel. 

"Be right back," he mumbled before he moved away from Castiel. He grabbed the phone out of Sam's palm and immediately started to leave the room. "What's wrong? No, I'm -" Castiel couldn't hear anything after that, Dean's voice fading as he left the room and then the house, closing the front door quietly, but not so quietly that Castiel and Sam didn't hear. 

"I don't like him," Sam said. Castiel tilted his head. "Benny." 

"Ah." Castiel didn't know what else to say, so he turned back to the counter and got a rag so he could pretend he had to wash something off of it. He didn't like the ugly feeling in his stomach. Jealousy. Of course Dean had friends, but it never looks good when someone you're dating leaves the house to answer the phone.

"He's an old friend," Sam started. 

"It's none of my business," Castiel mumbled. He decided the counter was clean, then turned back to Sam. "What did Jody say?" he asked instead, wanting to change the subject.

"Uh, that we could come over anytime. I figured I might drive Claire there, but she has a car of her own, so maybe I'll stay. Here." Castiel furrowed his brows. Sam was hiding something, that was for sure. The only thing Castiel wasn't sure of, was if he wanted to know what. 

"That's - that's fine," he said, forcing a smile. "Are you still staying at the motel? Do you need to borrow the couch?" 

"I don't know, we'll see." Yeah, Castiel though. Definitively hiding something. Instead of prying, he simply nodded. Luckily Claire came into the kitchen then, saving them from the awkward silence they were stuck in.

"I'll head on home, see that my dad has everything he needs before I leave tomorrow." Sam nodded. Claire pulled a key and a note out of her pocket, placing them on the counter. "That's a spare key to the house and the address. My dad's name is James. He can be.. Rude." 

"We'll be fine," Castiel said, smiling at her. "Stay safe." Claire nodded and left them alone again. Sam cleared his throat. "Should I -" He closed his mouth when Dean came stomping in. He looked angry. "Is everything okay?" Dean forced a smile and nodded. Did he really think that he was convincing anyone?

"Sam, I need to talk to you." He turned to walk out again. "Outside." Sam sent a look of pity in Castiel's direction before he followed his brother without explaining why he was looking at him like that. Not that he needed to, Castiel already knew. Dean was leaving.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's a bit shorter because I wanted to get it out, but I'm lacking real motivation for this fic right now. It'll probably come back to me, but maybe it'll take a while. Kudos and (especially) comments are appreciated!

**Author's Note:**

> I'm very new at this, I don't have anyone to beta my work and English is not my first language.   
> Kudos are appreciated, comments are cherished! (Even if the comment is just 'I like the story' or 'I hope to read more of this.')


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